The Two Worlds of Magic
by Kira Dattei
Summary: AU DMHP slash The silver collection of magic reached out and touched the only one that could control him. Maybe an agreement is really possible...
1. Symbolic Power

**Story Title:** The Two Worlds of Magic  
**Romantic Pairings:** Harry/Draco, slight Ron/Hermione  
**Current Sorcery Pairings:** Alia/Aidrian  
**Rating:** Currenty PG-13. Might change  
**Chapter Word Count:** 8,510  
**Warning:** This story does contain Slash or male/malerelationships. If you don't like that, then don't read, and don't complain to meabout it. I'll just laugh at you.  
**Disclaimer:** The characters except for Alia, Aidrian, Seph and Elaine Jerona belong to J.K. Rowling. I am merely borrowing and corrupting them. (maybe then she won't want them back when I'm done with them)  
**Summary:** Wizardry isn't the only type of magic around. That's common knowledge. What isn't common knowledge is Sorcery. Sorcerers were supposedly wiped out hundreds of years ago, but now they're back and Voldemort won't let them join the side of Light, especially considering the rumors that say that Harry Potter has become a sorcerer, which shouldn't be possible.

**Chapter 1: Symbolic Power**

Albus Dumbledore sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair behind his desk and brought a hand up to massage his brow. He felt so old these days. Voldemort's actions had been so quiet ever since the end of the last school year that Dumbledore couldn't help but be concerned that something terrible was about to happen. The Ministry of Magic was of even less help nowadays than it was before, as impossible as the thought seemed. Any movement that the Death Eaters made to make sure people knew they were still there in force was blown completely out of proportion by Cornelius Fudge. There was also the situation rising up in America…

There was a knock on the door and Dumbledore straightened up slightly to appear reasonably presentable in case it was an unexpected visit from a Ministry member. "Come in," he responded. The door opened to reveal Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall. They looked upset to put their appearance politely.

"Headmaster, we have received a distress call from the Jerona's. They say that Rokay is under attack by Death Eaters," Snape explained quickly. Dumbledore's attention snapped into action at the mention of the Jerona's and was now working out what significance Death Eaters attacking Rokay would have. Unfortunately there was only one thing they could gain from that action: two teenagers that are too valuable to lose to Voldemort.

"What about Alia and Aidrian? Are they safe?" he questioned, concern lacing his words. If they were lost now, then too many lives would be put in jeopardy, including that of Harry Potter.

"They didn't say anything about them in their message so I would assume there is no real bad news," McGonagall answered, Snape looking between the two in confusion. He couldn't recall the names, let alone match them to a face.

"But, knowing those two, they probably put themselves in the middle of the disaster."

"Unfortunately, you're probably right, Albus. Those two wouldn't let harm come to anyone they know if they could do something to prevent it. So, should we assume they are lost to us?"

"You obviously don't give them enough credit," Dumbledore said, allowing a kind smile to grace his features. "They may be teenagers, but they are the best at what they do. Just because they happen to throw themselves into danger doesn't mean they can't handle it. They are probably the most resourceful trained fighters you will ever meet. They always have a tendency to learn new abilities in the midst of battle."

"Who are these two?" Snape finally got a chance to ask.

"You'll meet them soon enough."

There was a quick knock on the door before it opened to reveal a flustered looking Reamus Lupin. "Dumbledore, we've received another message from Rokay. It was from Seph Jerona sent only to the Order. He says that Alia and Aidrian are planning to go to the Order's base in Phoenix. But Seph couldn't tell us for sure if they were safe or not. They were separated from each other when they went to help the other students that were fighting."

"Well, we were right in assuming they would join the fight without hesitation," McGonagall said with a subdued tone to her voice. She knew they were skilled, but they weren't properly prepared to battle Death Eaters with their underhanded tactics.

"Severus, I want you to get a Portkey ready to take us to the Black Manor, and then straight to Rokay," Dumbledore ordered calmly, finally making a decision on the course of action he would take.

"Why go to Black Manor?" Snape asked.

"We will need reinforcements to be of some assistance in defending Rokay," Dumbledore answered as he stood.

"Albus, you know their rules," McGonagall warned. "We aren't allowed to do anything by their laws."

"They have broken their own rule to help us before and I won't sit here when I have a chance to return the favor."

"But it's different for us breaking the rule, which is why we never have. By doing this we could begin a chain of events that could lead to total animosity between us."

"Snape, the Portkey, please," Dumbledore reminded the Potions professor. Snape looked at the Headmaster for a few more seconds before nodding and leaving the room.

"Reamus, please send a response to Rokay telling them we are on our way to assist them. Then tell everybody available in the Order to meet us at Black Manor."

"Got it," Reamus replied and turned to leave the room.

"I just hope the consequences won't be as harsh as I fear they may be. We need those two, now more than ever." McGonagall was concerned at that comment. She had never met this Jerona family, but the stories were enough to make her not look forward to the task. For some reason their tactics reminded her of some Death Eaters she has been unfortunate to know. They stopped at nothing to get what they wanted and would do just about anything to complete a task. But there was one difference, Minerva had to remind herself: they never did anything without a good reason that wouldn't reveal itself until absolutely necessary. She just hoped that whatever they had planned this time wouldn't cost the wizarding world the war with Voldemort.

* * *

Alia Jerona was getting tired. She had been engaged in battle for half an hour now and trying to keep from killing her opponents while making sure they didn't get back up to fight anytime soon was taking its toll on her endurance. She now understood why all-out-not-hold-anything-back was her fighting preference. Not to mention she had a few too many deep cuts to keep closed that were proving to make calling on her advanced abilities out of the question. From what she could tell, Aidrian wasn't faring any better. He wasn't used to extended battles like she was and had reached his time limit of fighting about ten minutes ago. To make herself feel better, she blamed her exhaustion on him.

Would you mind keeping your accusations to yourself, Aidrian's mental voice echoed into her mind and she accepted the comfort graciously. As it always was, being mentally connected to him made everything magic seem easier. That being said, she was easily able to stun her current opponent. We need to get out of this fight, Alia. Even you know why the Death Eaters are here.

Yes, I know, Alia replied softly. She didn't want to admit that people were dying because of her and Aidrian, but that was the truth of matters and it couldn't be changed.

The battle follows us. If we can make it to Phoenix and contact Dumbledore, we may be able to avoid any more losses on our side for now.

Do you really think these guys will move over if I ask them nicely? Alia asked as she was forced into battle with yet another wizard. This was getting old really quickly and just killing them all was moving it's way up on her list of how to handle the situation.

Then let me get over to you and we'll go from there, Aidrian said and Alia looked to where she knew he was and saw him quickly clearing his own path to her.

Please tell me you don't have an idea, she said hesitantly. Sorry to say, but they usually don't work out right.

Just shut up and wait a minute. I actually looked this one up in a reference book when I found out Rokay was being targeted.

That isn't as comforting as you obviously think it should be. Alia went silent as she blocked another wave of spells sent in her general direction and sent a few of her own in retaliation. She felt Aidrian approach her and made sure to avoid launching any assault in the direction he was coming from.

He touched her shoulder gently to let her know he was behind her and she opened her mind further to him.

Open your Territory and raise a shield. I'll keep them off of us until you have it up.

Now I know you're crazy. If I open my Territory now I will be overloaded with all this evil around me. I can feel it without my Territory up reaching for me, trying to influence me. I know you can as well. Aidrian didn't reply at first, opting to make sure Alia wasn't hurt while her attention was divided.

Even as he fought, he noticed others on their side of the battle were making their way to where the two were situated and were building a second level of defense for them. They knew that Alia and Aidrian together meant mondo magic was about to come as well as that they would need some time to put it together.

"Alia would you just shut up and do what I say. I do know what I'm talking about sometimes," Aidrian snapped, the force of his words convincing the girl to shut up and do what she was told. After all, he was getting better at actually getting text reference before having her experiment.

"Alright, watch my back and make sure you're in contact with me when I open my Territory," Alia replied as she kneeled down and pulled a piece of chalk from one of the small containers on her belt. She began drawing on the ground, the symbol of her Shield Rune flowing easily from her fingers with practiced perfection. It was finished quickly enough and she opened one of the many tiny leather pouches adorning her belt and barely touched the powder within it and then touched her finger to the center of the rune and pushed her magic into it. The rune flared to life instantly, the lines glowing, waiting for directions. "Aidrian, come within range," she called, the man instantly moving to her side.

Once he was situated, Alia rose to her feet, dragging a line of light from the rune along with her fisted hand, and raised the limp as high above her head as she could reach. Once her body was straight, Aidrian placed his hand on her shoulder and Alia opened her hand with the palm pointed toward the ceiling. The result was the line of magic connected to her hand exploded and fell around the two like a fountain, solidifying once it touched the ground and building up around the two quickly to form a shield between the two and the battle around them.

You won't be influenced. You are strong enough to overpower the evil in this place. Only extend your Territory to the rim of the barrier, Aidrian instructed, helping her keep her focus with the strength of his mind bonded to her tired one. The barrier took a lot of effort to maintain over another person, even if it was Aidrian.

Alia concentrated on the part of her magic that focused on her Territory. When it wasn't in use, it only covered her body like a skin of magic permanently surrounding her. When it was opened, everything around her became potentially a part of her and was hers to call upon. Unfortunately that also included the darkness within a person's heart and mind. It was dangerous to open her Territory in battle because of the influence evil held over her, even if it did give her full access to her magic. When using her runes with her Territory open, the activation powders she used were not required and it took little power to maintain any spell.

The power that was her Territory flicked instantly when she accessed its power. Years of meditation and control were all that kept it from opening as far as it could the instant it was tapped. Alia spread the power to the edge of the barrier surrounding her, which the area of wild magic didn't appreciate. It practically begged to be release further.

It was like she had jumped in a pool of evil once her Territory was slightly spread and she could feel its taunting influence reach for her. She had felt this kind of power only once before and it had almost killed her. The only thing that had saved her was the owner of the hand touching her shoulder, and it looked like he would be the reason for her retained sanity this time as well.

Meld the power of your Territory to the magic of your Shield Rune. I know you can do it.

I have to retract the barrier back to the rune first. I can't fuse them if the rune is already activated since the magic is different.

No, don't retract anything. There is some part of the magic of the rune and your Territory is the same or they wouldn't work at the same time. Would you please just trust me on this and do it?

Alia wanted to argue, but she could feel her control wavering because of her exhaustion. Instead she closed her eyes and looked at the structure of her two activated powers and tried to find what was alike about them. She could see the patterns that they created around her. At first glance, they looked completely opposite, the silver glow of her barrier contrasting with the black veil of her Territory. She then decided to look at what they appeared as when they formed around her. Her Territory moved around her when not activate, but remained solid when it was open, like an invisible dome around her. Her barrier was free until she completed her orders for how it should form. It moved until set…wait a second.

They are like water when they aren't commanded, Alia commented, mainly to herself at the realization. The only response Aidrian gave was a feeling of pride. See, I can think in the middle of battle just as well as you.

Too bad you aren't really in the middle of a battle or I would be shocked to death, he chided back. Now will you hurry up and fuse them together?

Alia didn't respond because her focus was already on moving her rune and Territory at the same time to match each other perfectly. Deciding which way would be easiest, Alia sent more magic into the rune at her feet, telling it that her command was going to change. The Shield Rune reacted instantly and began flowing around the two within like a veil blowing in a gentle breeze, but not letting one centimeter of weakness in case of a sudden assault. Alia took a mental note to congratulate the other fighters on how well they kept the Death Eaters off of them while they worked. The veil of magic moved to imitate the Territory behind it and soon there was no difference between the two.

Good, now solidify them, Aidrian instructed. Alia stopped feeding new magic into her rune, ending her active command over it and the barrier of light froze once again. Now, keeping them solid, expand your Territory and make us a path out of here.

Alia turned to the man behind her with an incredulous look. It's official: Aidrian Jerona has lost his marbles. What do you think will happen to me if I expand my Territory anymore than it already is?

Nothing because with the barrier connected to it, everything in its path will be knocked away. With your barrier stuck on the command to be formed to your Territory, it has no choice but to expand. Even though your Territory is just a space of magic without physical presence, your barrier will give it that aspect it usually doesn't have.

Why didn't you just have me raise my barrier and move?

Have you suddenly forgotten how to use your own magic? Your barrier only extends as far as your body can reach without moving. But, because of this, once you open your Territory, that's the form the barrier will be stuck to and your Territory actually won't move with you until you stop feeding magic to the rune.

"Too bad that isn't permanent," Alia felt strongly enough about that fact to say it out loud.

"Well, tough luck. Now open your Territory in a direct line to one of the doors out of here and hold it. The others will understand."

"I'm not going to send them flying without warning, no matter how much magic that will take to send them all a message."

Aidrian didn't have a chance to dissuade her because she was already linking her mind to every one of the fighters around them. Connecting to the minds of others was usually not a difficult task because of her diligent training in the ability. But with her concentrating on maintaining a constant stream of magic to her rune and keeping her Territory from exploring, her mind was too divided to make it a quick feat. Not to mention with so many people in the room that she had to keep from connecting to, she had to look at the signals each person put out to find the right ones. But with her stubbornness to guide her, she began sending a mental image of her barrier coming at the right people, and adding an image of it knocking them unconscious just in case they didn't get the hint of it being solid. She looked through the veil of magic around her as best as she could and saw the receivers of the message gradually moving their fights to make a semi-empty path to a door.

When Alia was sure that injuries to her side of the battle would be kept to a minimum, she focused on her Territory, which once again flared in response, wanting to be more free than a mere foot around her. She imagined a path from her to the door, and without a second to spare, the concentrated area of magic that was her Territory shot out like a bullet, taking the shield with it. The Death Eaters and the few warriors who hadn't moved far enough away to avoid the hit were flung aside, landing on the ground with heavy thumps.

Aidrian didn't give Alia a chance to recover as he grabbed her arm and dragged her down the path of her Territory. She was grateful for the assistance because of an unexpected drain of magic from the rune drawing more power to sustain its solidity as it expanded and Alia had been left having to focus more than normal to keep both maintained properly.

They made it to and through the door quickly and Alia cut off power to her rune as soon as the door was closed and locked behind them. She felt her Territory fold around her again and she quickly took her mind off of it to keep it from taking advantage of her tired mind and reigning free. She made, yet another, mental note to go to a few secluded areas to let her Territory have some free time once they were out of danger. The area of magic may be what saved her life most of the time, but the fact that it sort of had a mind of its own was a constant nag at the back of her mind that made her feel guilty she didn't let it have some free time more often.

She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that the man leading her had stopped and she rammed into his back, glad it wasn't exactly a rare occurrence and he had been able to brace himself enough not to topple over. He was even aware enough to grab her arms to keep her from ending up on the ground herself. Once she wasn't in danger of embarrassing herself, she looked ahead of them to see a cloaked and hooded figure standing in their path.

Once aware of the other's presence, Alia was assaulted by a wave of pure madness, anger, and an overwhelming sense of evil. It was everything dark that the girl was taught to avoid, but the pull to join the madness was intoxicating and she was too tempted to submit.

It has to be Voldemort. Nobody else could be this intoxicating to me, Alia warned the man in front of her. Aidrian reacted instantly by opening his mind further to steel her resolve. It didn't take long for her mind to recover and soon she was staring the Dark Lord down right along with Aidrian, barely noticing the attack on her sanity continue.

"So you are as skilled as the rumors say," the wizard sneered. "Everybody else who has faced me so far has already begged to join me."

"Then they are fools for keeping their Territory open to your influence," Alia shot back evenly.

"But you are so powerful; I bet you don't need your Territory open to feel my power."

Alia let a grin spread across her face slowly. "Well, I can feel your insanity. Actually, that's pretty much all I can feel from you. As far as I can see, you're simply a loon." That didn't bode well with the man and Alia felt an intense shot of anger directed at her, which she could deal with. It actually made it easier to ignore the insanity with a feeling she already had towards the dark wizard and she was grateful for the additional distraction. She had to be careful though. If she got too mad, her Territory would strike out at the subject of her hatred.

The attack came before either one of them had a chance to defend themselves. Voldemort had called out a stunning spell and had hit Aidrian with it so quickly and Alia barely had enough time to avoid a second spell thrown at her. She rolled away from the still body and quickly moved to her knees, ready to move at the slightest sign of another attack. Voldemort's wand remained fixed on her, but he made no move to follow-up with another assault.

"You know what I'm here for, don't you?" the wizard asked coldly.

"Of course I do. I'm not a novice," Alia shot back. "Why do you think I was trying to leave?"

"You thought I would let these people live, even if you left? You are such a foolish child. All of your kind is a threat to me and I will see that you are all destroyed."

"You wizards tried to do that already and we came back. When will you learn that we will always be here no matter what you do?" Alia was delaying now. She touched her hand to the ground and found she was on loose dirt. This was the opportunity she needed. She would have to draw with her right hand, which would take a little longer because she was left handed and it was harder for her to get the runes correct, but as long as she kept a handle on her remarks, the wizard should have no reason to attack her again yet.

"I'll be sure to remedy that. The fools of the Ministry didn't know about those in hiding, but I have my connections and we will find every last one of you."

"Not even the Sorcery Council knows where every sorcerer is. How do you expect to, even with connections?"

"All I have to do is look at the bloodline and destroy all the descendents. It will be a slow process, but killing every last one of your kind will be well worth it."

"You shouldn't tell your enemy your plan because you never know just when they'll make a comeback and beat you at your own game." The rune was complete. Now all she needed was a reason to activate it. She felt her Territory reach for the rune, drawn to its magic. Knowing she wouldn't get a chance to access the activation powder she needed, she allowed the Territory to touch it, but kept it from feeding power into the rune. Because she was so close to the rune there was such a little change in her Territory that she felt no change in her senses, which were surprisingly not under attack by Voldemort.

"You will join me or you will die. I can't let it be any other way."

Alia caught the wizard tighten his grip on his wand and fed power into her rune before he had a chance to cast. "Dispel!" Alia called her command and chains of light shot from the rune and flew to Voldemort, knocking the wand from his hand. "Restrain," she changed the command quickly and the chains moved to tangle around Voldemort in an almost haphazard manner. When the man was securely bound, Alia touched the corner of the rune to stop it from feeding more chain links. It stopped instantly, but continued glowing, showing it's readiness to respond to another command.

"Release me now, you stupid brat!" Voldemort bellowed as he struggled against the magical bonds.

"Well that's no way to ask someone for a favor. You're finished Voldemort. I hope you enjoyed your freedom while it lasted." Alia looked over to Aidrian and spread her Territory to him. Once it touched him, the magic of her Territory acted instantly to remove the effects of the spell that had been cast on the man. Aidrian moved instantly, sitting up and taking in his surroundings. His eyes landed on the struggling wizard and then they moved to Alia.

"Finish the job, Magic Hunter," he said. Alia closed her eyes and nodded. She walked over to Voldemort and kneeled down, shifting the position of the chains so they were more secure around the wizard. Once the chains were situated, she formed ends and attached them firmly in the ground. Now that she was sure he wasn't going anywhere, she withdrew a piece of chalk from one of her pouches attached to her belt and drew another rune. She pressed her hand flat against the floor in the center, not needing her Territory or activation powder for this particular rune, it being of her own creation and therefore her power was linked to it in a way no other rune was.

The rune reacted by sending an explosion of light through the ground, spreading out all around Alia. She began raising her hand and standing up. As she rose, the light around her was drawn from the center of the rune, forming the hilt and blade of a sword. Once she stood straight, she raised her hand a little higher so it was parallel to her shoulder blade. She then moved her hand to grasp the hilt and the sword solidified, making an actual weapon instead of a collection of magic in the form of one. She raised the tip of the blade to Voldemort's chest, shifting her weight to balance out the sword.

"You know what I do, Voldemort. You know I'm not going to destroy you. I'm going to give you the ultimate punishment and, for once, I am going to enjoy watching you endure it. I've heard what I do is painful, and sometimes it bugs me to know how much. Not this time, though. This time, I hope my victim feels pain unlike they have ever felt before."

"Do your worst, brat. Remember, I've already died," the wizard replied.

Something was different. It didn't feel as evil as it had before. Alia blinked as she realized the difference. It was like Voldemort had disappeared without moving.

"You're not Voldemort," she said. She moved to remove the mask and was faced with a man in his late 30's at least, with long blonde hair and intense grey eyes. She recognized him instantly as Lucius Malfoy. She had met him about ten years ago while at the Ministry of Magic on assignment. She had been seven then and was already well on her way to becoming the Magic Hunter she was now. At the time she had sensed something akin to evil insanity behind his devious manner, but she hadn't looked into it, having been aware that he was a suspected Death Eater. Now the roles of his manner were reversed and she now understood why she hadn't recognized him at first: the devious wizard had hit something crazy and was being controlled by it.

"That's not completely accurate," Malfoy sneered. "The Dark Lord has imbedded part of himself into me, so I can serve him by allowing him to control me. You will never defeat him now. He is everywhere and he will destroy you. You will not be allowed to make contact with The-Boy-Who-Lived."

What does that Potter kid have to do with this? Aidrian asked.

How did Voldemort know that I promised Dumbledore that I would watch over Potter? Alia thought to herself, not noticing that the channel between her and Aidrian was now open.

What was that? Aidrian snapped. You decided something without me?

We owe Dumbledore for the leads he's given us. Protecting a kid isn't going to be a problem.

Destroy Malfoy now, argue about this later.

You started it.

"I really don't care if you aren't really Voldemort. You gave into that madman and that makes you just like him. Not only that, but you attacked Aidrian and that is unforgivable in my eyes because that endangers too many people. You will be dealt the appropriate punishment. I declare an official report to the Sorcery Council and the Ministry of Magic that on July 20 that the Magic Hunter Alia Jerona binds Lucius Malfoy from wizardry. The crime is attempted murder and use of forbidden dark magic."

She then fed magic into the blade grasped in her left hand and plunged it into the wizards body. There was an explosion of light from the sword as it penetrated him, and Lucius let out a pain filled scream that filled the halls of Rokay. The light began to dim after a few seconds and Alia could feel the weight of her blade increase as the wizard began losing consciousness.

Suddenly, there was another change in the man and Alia saw it this time. Lucius' face changed slightly and the girl was assaulted by a wave of pure madness. She felt like she was going to faint began losing the grip she had on her blade. Aidrian felt her desperation to stay connected to reality and he ran over to her, grasping her left hand over the hilt of her sword and he moved his body behind her to make sure she remained on her feet. Alia felt her senses clear and even though the attack continued, it was now manageable.

"You are not meant to defeat me," Alia knew this was Voldemort channeling himself through his servant, which meant he was getting desperate to hang onto the wizard on the other end of her blade. "There is only one person who can destroy me and he will fail. I will never be beaten and you will fall to my wand in death or submission."

"I know all about your Prophecy, but you don't know mine," Alia replied. "That gives me the advantage I need to at least help bring you down."

Lucius' face returned to normal and he fell to the ground, the blade sliding out of his stomach. There was no blood, and none would come. The blade Alia used had done its job.

Lucius Malfoy was now a Muggle.

Aidrian released the girl from his grip and she banished the power of the Binding Rune and placed the tip of the sword in the center of the rune it was pulled from and released the hilt. The blade lowered itself back into the rune, the mark disappearing once the sword was completely withdrawn. Aidrian moved to where the Binding Rune was and swiped his foot over it, removing it from existence.

"This is getting complicated," Alia said quietly. Aidrian turned to face her and nodded slowly.

"Now, what was that about the wizard's Golden Boy?" Aidrian asked. Alia didn't get a chance to answer as they were once again assaulted by Death Eaters who had finally managed to move beyond the main entrance of Rokay. Once the battle began, Alia knew that neither one of them would survive without help, but kept the realization from Aidrian. There was no point to destroying his unending supply of hope he tended to carry everywhere.

* * *

Harry Potter was frustrated, and that didn't happen to often these days. He had spent the last month of the summer vacation at the Burrow with the Weasleys and was looking forward to the start of school again. Sure, there was plenty to distract him from the compilation of thoughts his brain insisted on keeping running at all times, but he was just too on edge.

He knew what some of the problems were. He was totally avoiding everything to do with Sirius' death. Hermione and Ron had gotten together, they insisted it was unofficial, last month just after Harry had arrived, which he was happy for. Voldemort was remaining quiet in pretty much every way. The Death Eaters attacked someone every once in a while to make sure people remembered that they were there, but nothing caught Harry's attention.

Not to mention, ever since last week, he was feeling these spikes of something he couldn't identify. He would talk to Dumbledore about it, but the Headmaster had been gone for the last ten days. Reamus, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, and Mr. Weasley had also been unusually active, which got on Harry's nerves because he didn't know why.

"What on earth are you still doing inside, Mate?" Ron's voice caught Harry's attention and he looked to the door to see Ron and Hermione looking at him.

"Enjoying the stuffy air," Harry replied with a grin, getting two laughs in reply.

"Well, you're going to enjoy some more. Dumbledore just called us for a meeting with him, Snape, McGonagall, and Reamus."

Harry went serious instantly at the announcement. "When did they get back?"

"About five minutes ago," Hermione answered. "We want to know what this is about just as much as you so let's get going."

Harry rose and made his way to the door and followed his two friends down to the living room, which was full of people. Dumbledore, Snape, and a girl that Harry didn't recognize were situated around the room. The girl had shoulder-length auburn hair and her eyes were the color of ice. She was relatively short, probably only about 5'5", but the way she held her posture radiated authority and calm as well as danger. It was then that Harry realized who was sitting next to her, in chains. The long blond hair surrounded Lucius Malfoy's face messily and his eyes were stuck on the ground. On the other side of the room, sitting next to Snape, was Draco Malfoy. He was glancing around the room cautiously, but his demeanor was still that of the proud Slytherin Harry had known for years.

"Hello there, Harry," Dumbledore chided. "Please have a seat. There is much we have to discuss. I'm sorry I had to leave like I did but there was urgent business in America I had to attend to."

"What are the Malfoy's doing here, Headmaster?" Ron asked, barely keeping a handle on his temper. He really didn't like them in his house.

"I'm delivering Lucius to prison, and Dumbledore insisted I take a detour," the girl answered. She looked up and Harry noticed that her face had faint bruises coloring her face and neck. He looked to her arms, which were only covered to the elbow and saw that there were day-old cuts marring the skin.

"Who are you?" Ron asked, not letting the defensive tone leave his voice.

"My name is Alia Jerona. I'm…"

"You're an American," Hermione cut in, noticing the lack of accent first.

"Well, that too. Before I continue, the first one to call me a 'Bloody Yank' finds out firsthand how I caught this jerk," she snapped, pointing down to the elder Malfoy with a scowl.

Harry could have sworn he saw Lucius flinch when she gestured to him.

"Alia is Hogwarts' new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore provided, knowing that it was best for him to give the information.

"But she looks younger than us," Harry said, realizing after the words were out that they could be taken offensively. "Please don't take that too bad, Miss Jerona." Alia just looked at Harry for a few seconds with wide eyes and then she broke out laughing. Everybody in the room, minus Lucius, looked at the laughing girl trying to figure out what was so funny to her. "Okay, what'd I say?" Harry asked cautiously.

"I have been called a lot of things, but 'Miss Jerona' has never been on the list." With that said, she resumed her laughter. Harry was at a loss for words. This girl acted less mature than him and Ron ever was even in their most careless moments. With that thought in mind, he couldn't help but notice how contagious the girl's amusement was and he felt his lips twitch into a small smile.

"What is wrong with you?" Draco asked, catching Harry's attention. There was no force behind his words. They actually sounded like he was amused himself and was merely going along with the feel of the conversation. Ron and Hermione looked at their fellow student, meaning they had caught it as well. Draco was different and they all knew it just by hearing him speak.

Alia turned a grin to the Slytherin. "You're just jealous because the voices talk to me," she said without slightly implying that she was joking. Harry couldn't have even pulled off that straight of a face in the situation and he was good at that sort of thing. Draco looked at the girl for a few seconds before the corners of his mouth quirked into the ghost of a smile.

"Thanks, Miss Jerona, I needed to know someone else besides me had such a warped sense of humor," Draco said, amusement barely able to discern in his voice.

"You should hear some of the things Harry spouts," Ron chided, obviously forgetting who he was talking to. He remembered soon enough though, and took on an expression that Harry could describe as pouting.

"We should get business out of the way, Alia," Dumbledore said. The girl's attitude changed so quickly, Harry didn't even notice as he settled himself into one of the couches with Hermione and Ron. He had sat down and when he looked at her again, she was serious and the danger that surrounded her had returned.

"So, what possessed Dumbledore to allow Shorty to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor?" Snape asked, smirking when the girl glared sharply at him. Harry had to admit, she could probably hold her own against the Potions master if given the chance.

"Why shouldn't I? She's been fighting it for the last twelve years of her life," Dumbledore replied lightly.

"Hold on, how old is she?" Harry asked quickly.

"She is seventeen," Alia answered.

"That can't be right," Draco said. "That means she would have had to be attending Hogwarts when she was five."

"She didn't attend Hogwarts," Alia once again cut in before Dumbledore could even open his mouth to reply. Harry looked over to the Headmaster and realized he probably wasn't even going to try and answer for her if the amused glint in his eyes was anything to go by. "She went to a school in America called the Rokay School of Sorcery." The way she kept referring to herself in second person left all a second behind, but when they figured out what she meant, Ron, Hermione, and Draco reacted in a confusing manner to Harry.

"What?" the three students asked in unison. Harry was lost as it was and their reaction didn't exactly help explain anything.

"But there are no more sorcerers," Ron followed up the initial outburst first. "They were all killed years ago."

"Well, that's what you were supposed to think," Alia replied with a grin.

"What were who supposed to think?" Draco asked. "Who were supposed to be deceived?"

"What would you say if I told you 'from every wizard and witch alive or dead'? Nobody was supposed to know that we were still out there. The Ministry of Magic made a law that allowed Aurors to kill us on sight. Do you really think we would dance in the street with signs that said they only knew about less than half of the sorcerers in existence?"

"I'm sorry to hold everybody back, but I have no clue what the big deal is here," Harry interrupted. Alia looked over to him and gave him an apologetic smile.

"That's right, you were raised by Muggles. Sorcery is another way for humans to manipulate magic. The problem is sorcery is purely genetic. Every child that is born from a sorcerer or sorceress will have power, even if it is just a low level, it will be there and they will have to be trained for when they awaken."

"And what does it mean to 'awaken'?" It was Hermione who answered, and Alia let her. A witch could probably explain it better. Anyway, she had heard what a brainiac Hermione Granger was. The only way she would get it wrong was if the textbooks were wrong, or misinformed. The latter was most likely considering the tight lips sorcerers tended to keep. Well, Alia had already decided to set things straight between the two worlds of magic sorcery and wizardry were split into.

"A sorcerer's Awakening is when they can access their power. It usually has something set it off, usually puberty or the person being in danger. They have to be trained to keep at least some control over the rush of power they have so they would spend a whole year training through meditation. It's weird, but I never read of a sorcerer or sorceress awakening before the age of thirteen, and I have read a lot on them. Sorcery has always fascinated me because of how it works."

"Don't you mean 'how the authors think it works'?" Alia interrupted. "The Sorcery Council was serious about disclosing information to wizards back then and not even we knew how to fully control our powers."

"How long ago are we referring to?" Ron asked.

"The Ministry of Magic declared us enemies over four centuries ago. I probably don't need to tell you that we have advanced in our years of hiding."

"If you're hiding, why are you here?" Harry asked. He was finally catching on to the whole sorcery deal. Something was telling him that the Ministry had good reason to declare them enemies. All Ministers couldn't be like Cornelius Fudge or wizards would have never survived.

"About a century ago, the Ministry thought we were all gone, when in fact we had attained such a high population, we couldn't hide anymore and too many of us weren't receiving the proper training to avoid problems because there was no way to keep track of who needed training. Back then, we didn't know we could prepare and waited until we were awakened before training. The Council decided to try and join forces with wizards and call peace. The Ministry refused, but agreed to call a truce. Since then, sorcery has been limited to America and everywhere else is wizard's territory. Within two years of the truce, Rokay was built and we discovered that we could prepare our minds to the strain of controlling our magic. Nobody has broken our truce and even though we aren't supposed to get involved with wizards, we still do and vice versa."

"You are unofficial allies then?" Snape asked.

"I think we fall under the 'enemy of your enemy' category to each other."

"At least you aren't in that category with the Death Eaters," Ron said, only half serious.

"The Dark Lord will kill you, Jerona," Lucius' voice cut into the conversation. It was low and husky, like he hadn't spoken in a long time.

"I was wondering when you would pipe up, Malfoy," Alia chided in response. "You want to tell them what happened to Rokay three days ago or should I do the honors?"

"Why didn't you kill me? It would be better if you did. If you don't strike me down, I will hunt you for as long as you live."

"Do what you want."

Once the sentence was spoken, Alia closed her eyes and the shackles on Lucius' wrists fell to the ground. The man sat there looking at his hands as if he couldn't believe that he was free. He looked up to the girl as she reached into her pocket with her left hand and withdrew a piece of chalk. Lucius reacted instantly, lunging toward her with hands reaching for her neck. Harry, Ron, Draco, and Snape all reacted instinctively and reached for their wands. But before their wands were pointed in the right direction, Alia had drawn some symbol that Harry had never seen before and had her hand placed over the center of it, the lines glowing dimly. Lucius had frozen where he was, only about a foot away from her.

"It will kill you this time," she said in such a low voice, Harry didn't know how to react. This girl gave a new definition to the word "dangerous" without breaking a sweat.

"It didn't kill me the last time you stabbed me. How do I know that thing's not just for show?" The dim light from the symbol exploded to make a circle of light on the wall, bringing Harry's senses to full alert. Alia quickly drew her hand away from the wall, the light shooting out the center to follow her hand. She then brought her hand down to grasp at one end of the stream of light and it formed a sword with the symbol she had drawn it from carved into both sides of the blade just below the hilt.

"Do you really want me to show you what this sword is capable of?" she growled. Harry looked to Lucius and took in the expression. To put it politely, the man was terrified.

Harry looked back to Alia and was surprised to see that he could barely make her out. There was what looked like a veil of darkness hugging her form. Something told Harry that this thing was part of her, but at the same time it was a living thing separate from her. This realization confused him because he didn't know how he even figured that; he just knew. There was a slight flash in front of him and he closed his eyes as a flash of silver close to him nearly blinded him. He let out a pained yell and fell back onto the couch.

"Harry!" he heard Ron call him, but he couldn't open his eyes. The silver light was still there and it blinded him whenever he opened his eyes even slightly.

"You behave," he recognized Alia say, he guessed to Lucius. "Snappy, come keep an eye on him."

"What did you just call me?" Harry registered Snape's voice, but his mind wasn't actually grasping anything. It was like he was losing himself to reality and he couldn't find his way back.

The next thing he knew, someone was touching his forehead, next to his scar and his mind was clearing. He opened his eyes cautiously to see grey eyes right in front of him. His mind was still muddled so he could only be confused as to who had grey eyes. It took a few more seconds for Harry to actually realize what was going on around him and when he did, he realized that Draco was holding his arms securely to his sides and Ron was holding his legs down. The hand touching his forehead belonged to Alia and her eyes were closed in concentration.

"Albus Dumbledore," Alia said quietly, which Harry was grateful for. Even with her voice low, he could feel a stab of a headache making its way into his brain. "Would you kindly tell me why Harry Potter has a Territory?"

"What is a Territory?" Dumbledore asked. It was the first time Harry had heard the Headmaster actually ask a question and sound confused and concerned. This day was full of surprises.

"All sorcerers have what we call a Territory. It's an area of concentrated magic that we draw our power from and it connects us to everything around us. That's what an awakening really is: it's our Territory coming to life. It's what separates us from you wizards. If Harry has a Territory, then that can only mean he's a sorcerer."

Harry was barely hearing this as he felt himself slipping back into unsorted thoughts. It was like he could feel another mind within his own. Not even knowing what he was doing, he investigated.

He was instantly surrounded in the sense of another person. This person was uncomfortable with the situation. He didn't want to be there. He didn't know how to handle anything right now. He had been betrayed and wanted to bear it on his own because that was all he had ever really known. He hadn't like Harry, but something had changed his perspective and he seemed to be trying to bury any harsh feelings toward the Gryffindor, but six years of conflict were hard to drop.

"Harry, stop it!" Alia's voice caught him by surprise and he was once again aware of his surroundings. "Draco, you might want to let him go. I won't let him hurt himself anymore." She nodded to Ron as well and the two boys moved away. "Don't explore anymore, Harry. If you go too deep without a Stabilizer, you won't come back. Dumbledore, do you have any isolation rooms in Hogwarts?"

"Of course," Dumbledore answered quickly.

"Then I suggest you get one up and running so it's ready when we get there." Alia was silent for a few seconds, thinking something over. "Ron and Draco should have not been able to touch you as easily as they did. Maybe you already have your Stabilizers."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked slowly.

"We'll talk tomorrow since you are about thirteen seconds from passing out. I'll keep your Territory restrained for now. Tomorrow we'll work everything out and you'll get some answers. Hopefully I will too. Snappy, I leave Lucius in your hands. Remember, he's a Muggle now so don't put him in Azkaban. Find a nice Muggle prison to send him to. It's what he deserves after what he's put other people through."

Harry didn't hear anything else as he felt himself slipping away.

* * *

Phew, finally done. Do you have any idea how hard it is to hold back information for as long as I have. I'm working on the next chapter quickly and it will be done hopefully in not too long. If you read, please review. I'm open to suggestions.

So until next time, farewell.

Kimra Dattei


	2. Sorcery's Secrets

**Story Title:** The Two Worlds of Magic  
**Romantic Pairing:** Harry/Draco, slight Ron/Hermione  
**Current Sorcery Pairing:** Alia/Aidrian  
**Rating:** Currently PG-13, might change  
**Chapter Word Count:** 8,909 (I don't know why i do a word count)  
**Warning: **This story contains Slash. AKA male/male relationship. If you don't like it, then don't read, and don't complain to me. If you do, I'll just laugh at you for ignoring this exact warning.  
**Summary:** Wizardry isn't the only type of magic around. That's common knowledge. What isn't common knowledge is Sorcery. Sorcerers were supposedly wiped out hundreds of years ago, but now they're back and Voldemort won't let them join the side of Light, especially considering the rumors that say that Harry Potter has become a sorcerer, which shouldn't be possible.

**Chapter 2: Sorcery's Secret**

Harry's green eyes slowly opened, and he tried to focus them. It wasn't working as the world around him remained a silver blur. He closed his eyes again and reached to his left to see if there was a bedside table that would contain his glasses. He was in luck as his fingers brushed against the rims of his glasses and he grabbed the object and placed it on his face. He opened his eyes again, hoping this time he could see.

Well, at least now it wasn't a silver blur. Now it was just like someone pulled a silver blanket over him but he couldn't pull it off. It was starting to hurt his eyes now.

"Ignore your Territory and you won't see it," a soft voice called from somewhere in the room. Harry narrowed his eyes and tried to focus on something farther away from him but he couldn't see past the silver blanket. "Oh man, this is why wizards and sorcerers don't mix." Harry heard footsteps approach him and felt someone touch his forehead.

It was like someone turned off a light and his vision was normal. He looked up to see Alia watching him carefully.

"What do you feel?" she asked quietly.

"I feel fine. Thanks for whatever you did," Harry answered, almost out of habit of saying he was okay.

"I didn't ask 'how' you felt. I asked you 'what' you felt. You should be able to feel what's around you even with your Territory under my restriction."

Harry didn't understand a word she was saying and was trying to work it out, which wasn't working as well as he hoped it would. Something in his mind clicked just as he was about to give up and ask her what she was talking about. It was like the answer had written itself out in his brain without him telling it to and he just said what was written in his mind.

"You're worried, confused, and in pain," Harry said, and then actually went over in his head what he had just said. "How did I know that?" Alia grinned at the response.

"Next time ask the serious question before running at the mouth. I think you're a sorcerer. You're like me." Harry was silent as he threw the idea around in his head as well as what he remembered from last night's conversation.

"How is that possible?" he finally decided on a question from the very long list he was building in his brain.

"I honestly don't know. Up until now, I have never heard of a wizard turning into a sorcerer. The magic we have works in a totally different way than that of wizards. That fact alone also makes it impossible to confuse a wizard with a sorcerer. Can't just one little part of your life be normal, Potter?" The last sentence brought a laugh from Harry, which the sorceress glared at. "What's funny?"

"You know, I have been asking myself that for years now," Harry answered around his laughter. He sobered soon enough as the door to the room opened and Ron, Hermione, and surprisingly Draco entered the room.

"Hey Harry, you should try a decent conversation with Malfoy here. Once you get past the fact that he's an annoying git, he's actually pretty easy to get along with," Ron said with a smile. Hermione was shaking her head and Draco was silently amused.

"You Gryffindors are very strange," Draco said and shrugged lightly. "I just can't understand how you survived this long without ending up in Mungo's for something."

"He's got an interesting sense of humor as well," Ron added.

"It's a relief to see that you are getting along with young Malfoy so well considering we are all on the same side here," Dumbledore's gentle voice spoke from just beyond the door and he followed the students in. McGonagall and Snape were right behind him and they all made their way around the room, which wasn't built to fit that many people easily. Ron and Hermione moved to the bed Harry was sitting up in as Alia moved to the window and leaned against the wall next to it. Dumbledore had conjured up himself a very fluffy looking armchair that looked like it could swallow a person whole if they sat in it to far. Snape and McGonagall sat on another bed in the room with as much room in between them as possible. Draco sat down in a chair at a desk in one of the corners of the room.

"You said you would explain everything today," Snape pressed. "You said something last night about stabilizers. What is a stabilizer?"

"A stabilizer is a center of focus," Alia answered quickly. "A sorcerer can't survive for very long without a stabilizer to hold them to reality. The power around them begins to find it's way into the sorcerer and without the magic being purified by their Territory it can control them or even change the way they think in such a subtle way that it will seem like it was the way they always were."

"How is that possible?" McGonagall asked, stunned at how easy Alia made it sound for what a sorcerer took in to drive them to insanity.

"There is so much more to the magic around us than you wizards understand and sorcerers are connected to it through our Territories. You have no idea what is really around us," Alia sounded sad when she said that. "You guys are so lucky not to constantly have to feel what those around you do. It's worse for me because of my power, but it's bad for any sorcerer. That's why we train like we do. With the meditation we go through, we are able to learn how to block out what we don't want to feel. That's where the stabilizers come in. They're minds are directly connected to the sorcerer's and it is the perfect thing to hold a sorcerer in check. No sorcerer has ever lost control while bonded."

"You have a stabilizer, right?" Harry asked. If he hadn't been looking carefully, he would have missed the girl's flinch at the question.

"Yeah, of course I have a stabilizer. With my power, it wouldn't take long for me to go nuts without one," Alia answered quickly and Harry got the distinct sense that she was lying.

"Alia, they need to know the dangers if you are going to remain here," Dumbledore said quietly. Alia looked at the Headmaster sharply, before turning away and looking at the floor.

"I lost my stabilizer when Rokay was attacked by Death Eaters four days ago. We were separated during a fight and I got knocked out just before Dumbledore arrived to help out and when I woke up, he was gone."

"Maybe he just got knocked out and lost," Hermione suggested hopefully.

"No, we were connected in more of a sense than a normal bond. My stabilizer's name was Aidrian Jerona and he was my twin brother. Because we were already connected as siblings, when I Awakened and he was bonded to me as my stabilizer, our own innate magic altered the spell used to bind us together and it amplified our connection. That strong connection we had made it impossible for me to mistake what I was feeling. He simply wasn't there anymore."

"Is it possible to cancel the spell that connects you?" Draco asked.

"It's very possible, and is honestly too easy. The spell to connect us is very complex and can actually only be done by very strong sorcerers, which I can do by the way, but to cancel it out is a simple spell for wizards that is only about as difficult as the Patronus you guys use against Dementors." Everybody in the room looked at her incredulously and she glanced around in confusion. "What did I say?"

"The Patronus isn't exactly an easy spell, Alia," Dumbledore said, humor touching his voice. "Even adults have difficulty learning to produce a strong one." Alia blinked a few times, reevaluating the analogy.

"I'm not the one who made the original analogy so I'm not going to change it. Just bear with me, all right? I didn't take any classes on how a wizard's magic works. I've been an active sorceress since I was seven and that's all I know. I was trained after my power Awoke so I didn't get a chance to have the natural training. I was also unfortunate enough to jump right into a Sorcery Spike at the age of ten, which made me have to go in for even more training, and then I was stuck on permanent duty in service to the Sorcery Council."

"You lost us already," Ron complained. "What is a Sorcery Spike?"

"A Sorcery Spike is a concentration of magic and emotion. There are millions spread out all over the world and they are like living things that move freely and are impossible to control or even predict. They only affect sorcerers because of our connection to everything around us. If a sorcerer runs into a Spike, they are hit with a permanent boost of power. The emotion that exists in the Spike is what keeps it 'alive'. When a sorcerer hits a Spike, they have no defense against the emotion, so they are permanently influenced by it."

"An example would be really helpful here," Ron said.

"If joy was the emotion of the Spike, the sorcerer would be happy for days, or even months, depending on how strong the Spike is and how long they were exposed. Basically, it's like they're on drugs until the emotion gets worked out of their system. A sorcerer can only be exposed to the Spike for a minute until the influence becomes permanent."

"Are there Spikes with negative emotions?" Harry asked, even though he suspected the answer. There was no power that could be gained without risk.

"Researchers estimate that over half of the Spikes in America alone are negatively powered. Hate and pure evil is just too strong to not leave a lasting impression. I have hit five Sorcery Spikes in my life so far and two have been negative. Actually, what caused me to Awaken was hitting a Spike. I was just lucky it was a small one, because it was filled with anger. My parents had to lock me up for three weeks for the anger to get out of my system and I so I ended up hurting myself because I had nothing to take the anger out on. Eventually they had to tie me down as well as manually restrain my power, like I'm doing for Harry right now."

"What about the second one?"

"It was about 5 years ago and I had already hit a second Spike, which left me so calm I could have been dead and there would have been little difference. Overall, I was well on my way as a fighter and was always getting called on a mission for the Ministry of Magic as well as the Sorcery Council. I was about a mile out of Hogsmeade when I hit it, and if Aidrian hadn't been there with me, I would have become one evil sorceress within thirty seconds. Everything evil you could possibly imagine was in that Spike and it drove me insane so fast I couldn't defend myself even if I wanted to. Aidrian was in Hogsmeade and he felt my despair and Apparated in time to pull me out of the area. He actually brought me back home and placed me back in isolation."

"How did you react to the Spike?" McGonagall asked.

"I couldn't feel anything. I became numb to everything around me. I didn't even notice that my Territory wasn't restrained and was taking in whatever it could. It was months before I could even register if someone was standing right in front of me. I've read up on it and found that nobody has ever had such a serious response to a Spike. But in looking into it, I found out how that specific Spike was created."

"That's possible?" Dumbledore sounded shocked.

"If you're willing enough to take months of research and looking back over the time you spent under the influence, yes. It is about the slowest process a sorcerer can go through: looking back over time that you weren't really in control of what you do. It's like watching someone else's life and that life isn't one you want to see."

"What did you find?" Draco asked.

"I saw the mind of Voldemort, in its purest insanity. He had to have performed some major spell, putting everything he could into it to create a Spike like that."

"You keep making references to yourself as an exception to pretty much everything a sorcerer is about. What is so different about you?" Draco asked after a short silence. "What separates you enough to make Dumbledore give you a teaching position at Hogwarts?"

"For one, she has gone out of her way to help us out the wizarding world," Dumbledore answered. "Second, she has extensive knowledge of the older arts of magic. Third, she was ordered to."

"What?" Alia suddenly yelled. "I didn't receive an order to teach at Hogwarts. I was doing it as a personal favor to you in order to look after Potter." Harry didn't really appreciate that last comment.

"That was before this morning when you received an order from the Sorcery Council stating that you are to remain at Hogwarts as a teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts as well as be Harry's trainer."

"Oh no, they are not sticking me with that job. They have a system established for that and they can't just throw it on me because I'm conveniently already here."

"I'm sure there more to it than that, Alia." The girl went silent and thought over what the possibilities could be.

"I bet its Mom and Dad. I bet they advised the Council that it would be better if I was the only sorceress here. It definitely would attract less attention. If Harry's Awakening can be kept secret, then it would give us a chance to find out exactly what his magic is going to do."

"His magic's going to do something?" Ron asked cautiously.

"Of course it's going to change. First of all, he'll have to learn to control his Territory. Once he's learned control, he'll have to learn what kind of power his Territory holds. Then we have to teach him how to use that power in conjunction with what he already knows. I think he will still only be able to use his wand though."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because that was the only way he could do it before. If he had been able to do stuff without his wand then I would concentrate on teaching him wandless magic, like I use, but since that's not the case I won't even bother."

"I think we could use some fresh air," Dumbledore suddenly cut in. "I'll speak with you later today, Alia. Then we can work out the details of your duties at Hogwarts."

"Sounds good," Alia replied.

Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall left the room quickly, leaving the four students and the sorceress in silence with each other.

"I owe you an apology, Draco," Alia said softly after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. "I fought with your father and delivered punishment for his actions and didn't even consider you or your mother's feelings. I don't usually act that hastily, but the attack on Rokay was a surprise and I got careless, even if I did mean to take his magic."

Draco regarded her for a few seconds before shrugging lightly. "I don't care. I had already decided to join the side of Light. I'm just relieved that he was taken care of before he heard the news."

"Why did you decide not to join Voldemort?" Harry asked, the expected flinch coming from Ron, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been in the past.

"I met him and didn't like what I saw. Alia put it really well: he is insanity in it purest. At least on this side I know that there are great wizards around." He paused and the corner of his mouth quirked into a small smile. "Although, sometimes I do have doubts about Dumbledore's sanity still being completely intact."

Harry let out a laugh at that. He had been rather close to Dumbledore over his years of school and found the statement mirror his thoughts sometimes. "I wonder that myself sometimes. But you get used to it eventually," he said after his laughter died down.

"You do?" Ron asked, partially serious. "I've been dealing with him as long as you have and I still don't know what to expect next from him."

"I wouldn't expect it to take just meeting Voldemort for you to change your mind about your allegiance," Harry said, getting back to the subject at hand.

"I may be blonde, but I'm not stupid. I know the difference between servitude and slavery. What Voldemort has is an army of slaves. Those Death Eaters are not much better than the Muggles they terrorize."

"On that matter, when I fought Lucius, Voldemort was able to channel himself through his servant," Alia cut in. "Lucius was an idiot and told me that the Dark Lord had fused a part of himself into a whole bunch of his Death Eaters. He's made it impossible for me to track him down. That means he knew I was getting involved and couldn't risk me finding him. Someone is feeding him information and it's as likely to be someone in the Sorcery Council as it is for it to be in the Ministry. Sorcery is too weak to evil." Alia stood up straight and walked over to Harry and sat down in front of him. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see what I can find out about your Territory right now."

"I'd like I know as well, so go right ahead," Harry replied instantly.

"Could you two please go over near Draco?" she asked looking over to Hermione and Ron. "Without my stabilizer I can't concentrate if there are too many people around me." The two Gryffindors nodded and moved over toward the corner and stood by where Draco was seated, all three watching with interest. "Just try and relax. My only warning is it will feel wrong for you when our Territories merge."

Harry was hesitant now. "Um, what does that mean?"

He didn't receive an answer as Alia closed her eyes and concentrated on her Territory. She had been able to constantly exercise her Territory, so it wasn't restless, but calm and patient, when she tapped its power. She found the outline of Harry's Territory, just barely discernable from his body. She quickly realized that by it being so close to his body meant that it wasn't fully Awakened. She reached out to the other Territory and tapped into it.

"Nifty trick #27: tapping another person's Territory and gaining control over it," Alia whispered. She already missed being able to talk to Aidrian through their mind link when she was doing something like this. He was so used to it that he simply ignored her or gave a light-hearted comment to help her concentration. She quickly brought her mind back to the task at hand and felt Harry's Territory awaiting instructions. Alia had never run across a Territory that was this naturally controlled. _Surround your host,_ she ordered.

The Territory acted swiftly and moved to form around Harry a few inches away from his body. This was where it was supposed to be when not actively being used. _Show me your power._ The Territory didn't react at all. So there was only so far it could go with direct orders.

"Nifty trick #29: establishing communication with a Territory when commands don't work," Alia mused.

Alia switched her orders to her own Territory and it prepared to obey. _Connect me to the other Territory._ If her Territory had a physical form, it would have jumped for joy. More often than not, her Territory reminded her of a child. It hated being restrained, it loved connecting with other Territories, and it was overly easy to please. It took not long at all to connect her to the other Territory. The first thing she noticed was that the color of the Territory was silver.

"Will someone write down that Harry's Territory is silver?" she called to the others she knew were in the room. She always took notes to look back on as a precaution since her memory tended to never be organized once she disconnected the Territories, a side effect she hadn't been able to fix over her years of practice.

The silver Territory realized that it was connected to her and she felt it "observe" her cautiously. She let it, knowing she couldn't press to hard or it would reject her intrusion. She had been shut out before and it wasn't a pleasant feeling on either party.

_What do you want?_ The way she "heard" the question was in a pattern of signals that came from the Territory that formed words through her own Territory.

_I need to understand you. What is your power?_ She asked.

_I am protection to my host. He hasn't used me though. Is he disappointed with me?_ Alia honestly didn't know how to answer. She didn't want to offend the Territory; they tended to ignore you if you did. But if she said something that was too negative in Harry's defense, it might not obey him as well as it should. Dealing with Territories as she did could really get complicated.

_He doesn't understand you yet._ That was a safe answer. _You are not fully activated yet, though. How can you protect him without your full power?_

_I protect him with what power I have._

Something occurred to Alia suddenly. "Your Territory can have physical presence."

_Where is my partner? I need a partner to receive access to the rest of my power._

_I will find your partner and help your host understand you._

_Thank you, Dark Territory._ Alia ingrained it into her mind that Harry's Territory knew her as "Dark Territory", which was actually pretty common. Territories only recognized each other and rarely even knew there was a person beyond the Territory. They could also act on their own to contact her if they really wanted and their host didn't have complete control over them.

Alia opened her eyes to meet Harry's green ones. Alia could sense that the boy was confused and still uncomfortable. Alia brought her hand to rub her temple, trying to sort out her thoughts. They were jumbled but she actually had been able to retain a clear recollection of the connection.

"How did you do that?" Harry suddenly asked, catching Alia by surprise.

"What did I do?" Alia tried to get clarification.

"I heard you talking to me through your Territory. I even saw it and kind of saw my own."

That was new. Nobody had ever been able to hear or even feel when she was connected to them. The fact that she could even connect to another person's magic was practically unheard of as it was. That was why the ability was so treasured by everyone who knew she could do it. The only reason Aidrian ever knew was because he always created a focal point for her to come back to if she was going to delve really deep into another person. She had to be careful if he had also been the reason why others couldn't tell when she was poking around their mind.

"I can control other Territories and even communicate with them if I connect mine to them," she answered, slightly defensive, even though she didn't know why.

"That was really…cool," Harry said quietly, with a smile. "I could feel everything, even the people downstairs. It was incredible." Alia smiled slightly as Harry's reaction to being able to feel everything around him through my Territory.

"Why were you so surprised to find that Harry's Territory was silver and could have a physical presence?" Hermione asked.

"Territories are always black, white, blue, green, or red. The color tells the strengths and weaknesses of the Territories power. White shows strength of barriers and has the power to purify magic, and can even destroy a Sorcery Spike by dispelling the emotion that powers it. Red specializes in offensive power and enhances the sorcerer's power greatly, but can only be used for short periods of time. Green has the same effect as red, but it can only provide power to other Territories. Green Territories are pretty common because even though the Territories are very powerful, the sorcerers aren't physically fit for battle and are left defenseless when using their Territories. Blue Territories hold the power of the four elements. The sorcerer is trained only manipulation of earth, fire, water, and air because through the elements, they have perfect offense and defense."

"Yours is black though," Harry said when Alia paused. "What is a black Territory's power?"

"Black is an ancient power. It is untainted magic in a concentrated area of power."

"You would think that white would mean untainted power considering its power," Draco said.

"White is a version of untainted power, but not ancient. Black holds certain traits of each color, since they were originally created by sorcerers of a thousand years ago breaking up their Territories before they died so we wouldn't die out because they were too powerful with so much concentrated magic in their control. Since the division of power, there are only five sorcerers with black Territories in existence at all times. When one dies, the power moves to another automatically."

"How does a Territory know who to transfer to?" Hermione asked. Harry thought he had never seen her so excited to learn about something since he had met her.

"Heck if I know. It's something I would like to figure out though. I really want to know why I was chosen. Sure, my bloodline is a combination of powerful sorcerers and wizards, but power of the bloodline hasn't been proven to hold little influence on anything."

"You have wizards in your family?" Harry asked, really confused now.

"Of course there are wizards in my family. It's impossible to only have sorcerers as parents."

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Because most stabilizers are originally wizards and are bonded as soul mates to the sorcerer."

"Then why was Aidrian your stabilizer?"

"Aidrian became my stabilizer because he was the only one who could handle my power as well as my brain. I've probably already proven that I can be kinda loopy. Him being my twin gave him a genetic connection that exists with every other twin, which I know you guys understand all too well."

"So, you've met Fred and George?" Ron asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I've met those two. I just have to ask: have you had them see a professional?" That got a laugh, even from Draco as they all fully understood the concern since it seemed that Alia wasn't completely joking.

"No, it would take a fortune to simply find out what's wrong with them, let alone fix them," Ron chided.

"I wouldn't doubt it in the least. I can stand up to the meanest sorcerers and face down Voldemort without flinching, but those two truly scare me."

"Don't worry the feelings mutual. You get used to it though," Harry said with a smile still on his face.

"They have a bad habit of growing on you." Ron chided.

"How embarrassing," Draco added, getting another round of laughter. Harry had to agree with what Ron had said earlier: once you got used to him, Draco Malfoy really wasn't all that bad. Harry was glad that Draco had been able to see the truth about Voldemort before it was too late. Harry was willing to let go six years of rivalry to make sure Draco didn't change his mind. After all, they needed all the help they could get in this war.

* * *

Alia walked into the kitchen of the Weasley home and sat down at the table next to Dumbledore. It was almost midnight and Dumbledore had called her down to work out their situation as best as they could. Snape and McGonagall were there as well. Alia had already decided that out of all the professors at Hogwarts, the Potions master and Transfiguration professor were the most trustworthy and she needed to have at least two adults to confide in while at Hogwarts since her parents wouldn't be there. Dumbledore would be there, but she only wanted to refer to him if absolutely necessary. After all, she wouldn't be able to keep up in the details of the war without him to keep her updated.

"Good evening, Alia," Dumbledore greeted lightly.

"Wait a few more minutes and you can wish me a good morning," Alia snapped. She really wasn't one to be up late. She should have been to bed over an hour ago and it was beginning to show. It didn't help that sleep had been really hard to come by for her lately – her mind was too troubled and upset.

"I'll try and get this done quickly. We had already decided that you would be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor when I met with you last month. From that position, keeping an eye on Harry from a distance would be an easy task, especially for you. But now, with the revelation of Harry being a sorcerer, it adds a level of difficulty to the situation."

"It makes it pretty much impossible to keep a distanced watch over him. Do you have my orders from the Council?" Dumbledore nodded and handed her a folded parchment and she took it. She broke the seal and opened it to read it silently.

Magic Hunter Alia Jerona  
Order Alteration

The Sorcery Council grants you immunity to punishment for involvement with the world of wizards. We have confirmed reports of the wizard Harry James Potter Awakening as a sorcerer. This unusual occurrence concerns us here at the Council. Since you are experienced in working with wizards through previous assignments, you will find out all you can about why this happened. Send a report once you find details to Harry Potter's situation as well as his power.

If this case is just the beginning of the magic of sorcerers and wizards merging, then we must permanently restrict contact between us. We cannot risk our magic intertwining with that of the wizards. We have to keep sorcery within the bloodlines. If necessary, we will restrict stabilizers to Muggles.

These orders and circumstances are to be kept to yourself. If you must tell anyone, only inform people who must know. Albus Dumbledore will be informed of your orders, but not of the precaution of withdrawing involvement with wizards.

The report transmitted on July 20 concerning your punishment to Lucius Malfoy was forwarded to the Ministry of Magic immediately and he is being turned over to a Muggle prison in Texas. He will not be released and will be under guard by sorcerers.

Aidrian Jerona was reported missing by Albus Dumbledore on the morning of July 21 when you were in recovery. After searching through Rokay, we were unable to produce a body. We have confirmed that your connection has been removed by a spell and so we are led to believe that he was captured by the Death Eaters and is a prisoner of Voldemort. Because of this, you need to remain cautious at all times. Without his connection to you, your brother is a wizard and can fall victim to any of the three forbidden curses. If you notice that you are losing your center and are having difficulty controlling your Territory, report to us immediately and we will send your reserve stabilizer to you immediately. We would now, but she is currently on an assignment that we don't want left alone unless absolutely necessary.

Good luck at Hogwarts and with the Order of the Phoenix. This is an opportunity for us to overcome our differences, and even though we are being cautious of our magic intertwining, all here in the council want the wizards to be our full allies and friends. Never forget what was foretold for your life.

Chief Sorcery Representative Pierce Baron

P.S. I know this is an official order, but I can't help putting in a personal "Hey, how are you?" This is what the Council gets for appointing me, a sorcerer known for his tendency to ignore formality, as a Representative. They say I have been doing a pretty good job. Anyway, I haven't seen you in months. Send a letter my way and give me all the details you can about the battle in Rokay. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. If J and I had been there, Aidrian would not have been lost.

Alia rolled her eyes at the last part of the letter. It was just like Pierce to ruin a totally formal letter by putting in an update of his life. She made a mental note to write him a letter to get on his case for messing with an official order. But he did have a point: it served them right for appointing him and Jayce Reps. It was a decision just begging for trouble. Alia was surprised Pierce had actually remained formal until after he had signed it.

"So, is there anything that we should be concerned about?" Dumbledore asked as Alia folded up the parchment and placed it onto the table in front of her.

"I don't think so. My orders were originally to keep an eye on whatever Voldemort was up to through you and being a professor was just an easy way to remain in contact with you without risking too much suspicion. They changed the orders to still be a professor and gather information, but they are concerned with what's going on with Harry. He's now registering as a sorcerer, but his power hasn't fully Awakened yet."

"Have you found out anything Potter," Snape asked.

"I did examine his Territory and will have to do some serious research. I don't think his power will fully Awaken until he's bonded to a stabilizer though."

"Is that rare?" McGonagall asked.

"Not really," Alia shrugged as she thought of how many people she knew that didn't Awaken until they had been bonded. "It's actually getting to be a rather common circumstance. They Awaken partially and they have a Territory, but it only has about a quarter of the power it will have once fully activated."

"Then why do you have to do research?"

"Because when I looked at his Territory, I saw something that shouldn't be possible." Alia didn't say anymore and the three adults decided not to pry any further at the moment. "I will train Harry to control his Territory and keep an eye out for a stabilizer."

"Have you ever trained a sorcerer to control their abilities?" Snape asked as he crossed his arms. The girl seemed too uneasy to be totally supportive of the situation.

"No, they have professionals for this sort of thing," she replied in an overly annoyed tone. "They must be crazy to think that just because I can connect to Territories I am qualified to teach someone else to keep their personal magic stalker under control."

"Personal magic stalker?" McGonagall asked with a confused, as well as concerned, look on her face.

"Those assholes are starting to take advantage of me. Did I submit a request for a new Sorcery name so it would say 'Magic Trainer Alia Jerona'? No, it still says 'Magic Hunter'. Magic Hunter means that I go out and take care of sorcerers that are starting to go wacko because they hit a Spike they couldn't handle. I've got three years of weapons training, and it took me over a year to perfect my runes and activation powder. Then I keep on hitting Sorcery Spikes so I have to learn to control more power. Speaking of Sorcery Spikes, I haven't hit one in about two years, so I should be due to run into another one so something else can go wrong!"

Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall just looked at Alia as she vented all her frustration in a verbal attack on the Sorcery Council.

"Albus, do you think it was a good idea to involve her in this? She seems too easy to upset," McGonagall whispered as Alia continued to mumble, now glaring at the back of the parchment on the table, which bore the Council's seal.

"If she wasn't insulting a letter right now, I would say I am positive that it was a good idea. But since that is exactly what she is doing, I'm beginning to wonder whether putting her in charge of Harry's safety is truly a safe decision." Alia turned her glare to Dumbledore and the wizard was actually temporarily concerned that she would forget all ties and attack whoever was closest, and he really valued Severus Snape's allegiance.

"I'm not deaf, not matter how much I seem to not be paying attention. You better get used to me saying what I'm thinking. Without Aidrian to talk to I don't have a choice but to vent frustration." The adults remained suspicious. "Look, I have to get used to not having someone constantly connected to my mind, giving me a constant sense of calm and I have to find a way to handle it. Don't get me wrong though, I will do what I'm supposed to, and I'll do it as best as I can. You don't need to worry about Harry. I'll start teaching him tomorrow and he'll be ready for when we have his stabilizer and get him bonded."

"Are you sure you won't cost him his sanity?" Snape asked with a smirk.

"I was under the impression he didn't have much to begin with," Alia chided. Snape was going to be fun to argue with. He might just be good enough to temporarily replace Aidrian as someone to help relieve stress – arguments did wonders for Alia's concentration. This might actually work better than being on active assignments.

* * *

"What kind of person makes someone wake up at 7 in the morning?" Harry complained. It was the middle of summer after all. He shouldn't be awake before 10 unless breakfast smelled particularly appealing. Ron was the same way. Molly knew this, so she didn't even bother calling either one of them until at least 10:30. Molly, Hermione, Arthur, all the Weasley clan, heck even Snape, knew that before that time he could be dangerous with his tongue.

So why had nobody told their resident sorceress? Alia was going to get chewed out, big time. She would never even consider waking him up that early ever again once he was finished with her. She told him to meet her outside in the backyard and she would explain her reason to him. He walked out the door in the kitchen and walked around to the back of the house and instantly noticed Alia. Her eyes were closed and he could see flashes of black shimmer around her. He decided to figure out later how exactly black could shimmer, but for now he could just stand there watching her. He sensed that he shouldn't go near her, that it was important for her not to be disturbed. He sensed that she knew he was there and would come back on her own.

He wasn't waiting long as he noticed the black of her Territory dissipate and fold around her, as it always was, and her ice blue eyes opened to look over to him. "Took you long enough," she said dryly.

"I'm not usually up this early," he replied shortly. He knew she could pick up emotions so he just sent out every feeling of disdain he could produce, which wasn't as much as he hoped it would be because she obviously found his attempt amusing.

"I'm not usually up at this ungodly hour either, so don't feel too bad. Not to mention I didn't go to bed until about 1 because Dumbledore insisted on working out every last detail of what I was going to teach at Hogwarts. That man is sneaky. He may seem all nice and gentle, but once you let your guard down he springs his cruel and highly unusual punishment on you." Harry found his lips forming a smile without asking him for permission. He couldn't help it – this girl knew how to radiate a calm attitude and was much better at generating a specific emotion than he was.

"So, what possessed you to wake me up?" Harry asked with a silent laugh.

"I want to get you controlling your Territory as soon as wizardly possible." Harry quirked an eyebrow at the choice of words. "With your Territory only partially activated, there is only so much you can do, but at least you will get enough practice for when you need to worry about keeping it on a tight leash."

"You never did tell me how you control it," Harry said.

"With a lot of patience and meditation. It will get easy and eventually you won't have to even concentrate on containing it. Now, let's start right away. If you have any questions…" she paused and considered what to say. "…don't think about them until we aren't doing anything. In order to help you gain better control, I'll be manipulating your Territory and make it spread out. Your job will be to surpass my control and convince your Territory to ignore me and only obey you."

"How the heck am I supposed to do that?" Harry asked, ignoring the order to forget questions. There was no harm if they hadn't even done anything yet.

"There's a point in your Territory that is receptive to orders. It's sorta like the brain and it is what controls all of the magic. If you look hard enough, you will feel a stronger connection with a small point. That is the focal point that you need to control. It's not as easy as it sounds though. Every Territory has a will of its own and can act against you if you don't have secure control. Most Territories don't like being restrained and try to bend your orders so it feels like it has some freedom. You can't let this happen or you won't ever have enough control."

"What was supposed to sound easy about that?" Alia grinned and before Harry had a chance to react she had molded her Territory to his own.

He could see the silver blanket of magic that surrounded him instantly react to the black Territory. It was excited to meet the other Territory again and it reached out to embrace the visitor. Harry swore he could feel that his Territory didn't like to alone now that it had found someone to communicate with.

_Black Territory!_ He felt the words sound in his mind as he did when Alia was joined with his Territory yesterday. _I missed speaking to you. You are very kind to speak to me again._

Alia's "voice" was more like a feeling through her Territory that came from her mind, but was filtered into waves of magic that formed words to the area of magic surrounding him and he sensed the words through the understanding of his own Territory. _It is pleasant to speak to you, Silver,_ Alia replied in kind. Harry noticed how careful the sorceress was about speaking to his Territory. She had also given it a "name". _I would like to help your host understand you. For me to do this, I need your cooperation and obedience._ "Silver" didn't like how Alia had worded the situation, and it took on a defensive feel.

_I do not obey you. I only obey my host._

Alia physically cringed as she realized her mistake. She had to hurry or she would lose the trust of "Silver". Giving the Territory a name was a good step, but she had to watch what she said since the Territory seemed to have the sole purpose of a barrier, and was therefore not able to put its host in danger, even if it was under her tight control. _I promise you that I will not force you to harm your host. He needs to learn to understand you if someone who is not your friend tries to control you. I am only going to move you so he can learn how to control your movement. He has to know or he will not be ready for your full power._

The words were slowly soothing "Silver" and by the time Alia had finished the explanation, it was no longer seeing her as a threat to Harry. _I want to be understood by my host. I will obey you, Black Territory._

He suddenly felt as if the magic that had felt so much like an extension of him, like his wand, was now foreign and didn't belong around him. Alia was good if she could make it feel so…wrong.

"Look at your Territory, Harry," Alia ordered. It was hard to concentrate on his Territory when he felt so sick. Eventually he was able to ignore it enough to focus on the magic around him. He could see the black and silver moving around him. Alia wouldn't keep them still, making it even harder to find a certain point.

"Come on, where are you?" he said aloud after a minute of searching without results. "If only you weren't far away I could tell."

"You have to be able to find it no matter what. The focal point never moves. It is always in the same place, no matter how the magic has altered. It is usually similar to a stronger point of your body. My focal point is my hands because I channel my magic through my hands no matter what I'm doing with it. There is some point on your body that holds strength unlike the rest of you."

The information helped Harry little Sure, now he knew that it was one point of his body that determined where it was, but how was supposed to help him when it came to something that was moving around him?

His eyes suddenly caught something on Alia's black Territory and he focused on it. When observed closely, he saw that it was a small patch of different colors. To be exact, it was a circle that was divided into four sections, each a different color, with a barely visible spot of black in the center. It occurred to him quickly that it was her focal point. She had shown it to him. He looked past the patch to see her left hand directly beyond it. She moved her hand next to her face and gave him a small smile.

"Now you understand what to look for. Find your focal point and overpower my control."

Harry wasn't so sure he could overpower her. He had no experience with the task and she was recognized for her ability to control Territories. Pushing his doubts aside for the moment, he thought about a point of power his body had. His first thought was his hands, since his wand channeled his magic through him where it was held. With that in mind, he looked for some sort of break in the Territory that was anything resembling what she saw in Alia's. After a few more minutes without results, he was about to call to Alia and say that he couldn't find anything, his eyes focused on his own Territory instead of the black one beyond it.

The focal point he was supposed to be looking for was right in front of his face, literally. Because of the silver color of the Territory, it made it hard to see and he was sure he would have overlooked it if he hadn't been looking. The form of the point itself was a small lightning bolt that was parallel to the scar on his forehead. The figure in the Territory didn't actually have a color. It was a line of clear magic that he could feel in his mind now that he knew what and where it was.

"Now, convince your Territory to obey you and not me. Don't worry; I'm not going to put enough influence into it to make it impossible for you to regain control. I'm only using how much is absolutely necessary to make sure you learn the lesson."

Harry put all the concentration he could into the focal point of his Territory and felt it reject him immediately. This was "just as much as necessary"? It felt like he was surrounded by something that would strike out at him if given the order.

"I can't get in," Harry said after another few tries to gain access to the connection and failing.

_I won't hurt him._ Alia speaking to "Silver" caught Harry by surprise and he tried to work out what she meant. He didn't have long to worry as his senses were suddenly attacked be a wave of emotions and magic. He was actually knocked back a few steps by the force of the assault. Alia had to told the truth in that it didn't physically hurt. It was undoubtedly the most uncomfortable feeling he had ever had though and he was sure he was close to throwing up. He looked back to Alia and saw her raise her arm. Her hand was glowing and it was obvious that she had sent the assault.

"Regain control in fifteen seconds or I will attack you again. It will get worse the more times you are hit." Harry didn't want to feel that again and he tried again to gain control. This stupid thing was still rejecting his control. Why did it feel so wrong now when had never even noticed it before? He was really getting frustrated now as he tried again.

Movement caught his eye and he focused on Alia, who was moving her arm to cross over her body. As her hand moved, a line of magic remained suspended on the path of the movement. Once the magic had formed an arc around the front of her body, she moved her hand directly in front of her at the center of the arc. Her arm tensed and a flash of light appeared, causing the arc of magic to shoot toward him.

"Stop!" Harry suddenly yelled as he closed his eyes and willed his Territory to keep the magic away from him. When nothing hit him, he cracked one eye open cautiously. The lightning bolt on his Territory was glowing a dim green, close to the color of his eyes and it had molded itself to the magic that had been moving toward him. It was currently suspended by his Territory a few feet away from his body.

He had controlled his Territory and saved himself from a world of hurt. He didn't even know what he had done differently when it worked, but it had actually worked. His mind was stuck on that lone fact and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then his brain caught up with events and he realized that Alia had actually attacked him to push him to defend himself. She had actually attacked him.

"What kind of teacher are you? First you don't tell me what to do until after you've taken action. Then you kick me out of control of my own magic. Then you attack me with something that supposedly doesn't hurt, but makes me feel like I want to die. Snape is a better teacher than you are, and he's the worse one I know."

"You got the job done didn't you?" Alia replied calmly as she brought her Territory back under restraint and settled it around her body. It was slightly disappointed it couldn't interact with the other Territory, which was still active, but it obeyed instantly nonetheless. She had allowed it freedom every day, so it was hardly ever jumpy to react and was getting to be calmer than she had ever known it to be.

"Well, yeah but I don't know what I did."

"You did what you were told to do. For now, all I needed to know was whether or not you had the ability to actually regain control. You did pretty good for someone who is about ten years too late to start training. Not only that, but now I know you concentrate best when you are in danger. That little tidbit of information is going to come in very handy once we really get into the training."

Harry wasn't sure if he should be relieved or worried that Alia had figured that out. He just hoped he didn't have to deal with those attacks she threw at him in every training session. The evil glint in Alia's eyes didn't help to soothe his concerns.

* * *

Woo-hoo! another chapter completely done. and one with reviews. it was awesome getting so many compliments and i cant wait to see reviews for this chapter. im sorry if it was kinda drawn out with convos, buti tried to end it really cool with harry's first lesson.

**Review Replies:**

**Jay-BG: **first to review, first to give a reply to. i think its only fair. im glad you like the story. i did get the chapter out soon! only a week to write this.  
about skipping the end of the battle, i didn't want the outcome, namely Aidrian gone missing, until this chapter. just feel lucky i didn't cut off sooner than that. it was a consideration that i decided against simply because it would be hard to have Alia explain.

**Moreena Evansong:** i like the name,i don't know why. its just cool to me. it took a long time to work out exactly what the differences would be between the two types of magic and i had to make sure it was evident that a sorcerer couldn't be a wizard. as i mentioned in this chapter, it's dangerous. i'll go more into that later.  
you got your explanation for Draco in the chapter so i dont think i have to answer. i wasn't going to put that off for very long and it just didn't fit in anywhere in the first chapter so i just fit it into this one easily.  
thank you for reviewing.

**Womble or Kevin:** which name do you go by? its great that you like the sorcers so much and you brought a good point of how harry survived voldemort when he was a baby. it was actually your review that gave me the idea for Harry's scar being the focal point of his Territory. i was originally planning for it to be his hands, like Alia. i settled on just having that be a thought to give reason for the idea.  
the only reason i put Lucius in the chapter at all was to work in Alia using her Territory to call her sword, which caused Harry's Territory to react. i wanted it to seem like he didn't even realize that there was even anybody around him except for Alia and he just finally worked up the guts to threaten her. i guess i probably should have elaborated a little on that huh?

**Brenna8:** ah, my negative reviewer. i actually liked having a negative review. they are actually more helpful than the positive ones and i appreciate the help at anothers complaints.  
you said it doesn't make sense to make Alia a teen and a professor because teens think they know it all. well, Harry's a teenager and he doesn't think he knows it all. as i pointed out in this chapter, Alia doesn't mind being a professor because she has been fighting for quite a few years, but she doesn't want to teach Harry because she doesn't know how to tell if she's doing it right or not. i don't wantany ofthe charactersto ever seem like a know-it-all. that's why i made a point to have Alia confused by the aspects of Harry's Territory.  
second of all, saying Albus is a sorcerer is going by the books. this is a fanfiction and for my story, sorcerers and wizards are two different types of people who can use magic. i will include that Dumbledore is in fact very close to being a sorcerer because of how his magic works, but at the moment, it's an irrelevant fact since i'm concentrating on Harry and Alia.

**neonorangefroggy:** you asked for more, more you get. i like the name, its fun. hope your as enthusiastic in your review for this chapter.

since just about everybody at least commented on Aidrian and Lucius, i'm going to add as a spoiler that you have not seen the last of either one of them. i try to drop hints about whats going to happen in the future. if you think you have an idea about what is going to happen, tell me in your review. i won't directly say whether or not your right, but it will help me know where to throw ina twist. i do have an outline for the story, and even though i'll keep to it, i will change things for the sake of keeping readers guessing.

i actually didn't think that so many people would respond so enthusiastically about turning Lucius into a Muggle, but i'm glad it turned out so good. i was worried that people would be like "How dare you do that!" even though it is to Lucius, who as far as i know is hated by most.

one last note, i don't have a beta and if anybody is open for the job, i would really appreciate it.

i will work on the next chapter as fast as i can and will hopefully have it out within the next two weeks. thanks for the patience.

Kimra Dattei


	3. Stabilized Sorcery

**Story Title:** The Two Worlds of Magic  
**Romantic Pairing:** Harry/Draco, slight Ron/Hermione  
**Current Sorcery Pairing:** Alia/Aidrian, Pierce/Jayce, Harry/Draco  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Chapter Word Count:**11,235  
**Warning:** The story is now officially slash, meaning male/male pairing. If you don't like it, don't read. You are just closed minded people who need to get a life.  
**Disclaimer: **I forgot to do the disclaimer in the last chapter. oops. Well, besides the Jeronas, Pierce, and Jayce all characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm merely borrowing and corrupting them.  
**Summary:** Wizardry isn't the only type of magic around. That's common knowledge. What isn't common knowledge is Sorcery. Sorcerers were supposedly wiped out hundreds of years ago, but now they're back and Voldemort won't let them join the side of Light, especially considering the rumors that say that Harry Potter has become a sorcerer, which shouldn't be possible.

**Chapter 3: Stabilized Sorcery**

Harry was really getting tired of this. For two weeks, Alia had him out of bed, dressed and practicing meditation and control over his Territory before 8 o'clock even hoped to arrive. What's worse was he was getting into the habit so much that this morning he had been awake before Alia had even walked into the room to use one of her many underhanded tactics to bring him to the world of consciousness.

Harry had quickly realized that the Burrow's resident sorceress could be quite sadistic when she had to be. Alia not only tended to use harsh methods to wake him up – her favorite seemed to be a bucket of ice water that she managed to get her hands on almost every morning – but while training him, if he didn't get something quick enough, she would attack him in some way. He really wished she hadn't found out that his mind worked so much better when he was in danger.

It also seemed that nobody was willing to step in and give him a hand in dealing with her. Whenever she showed up to drag him away for some unknown reason, his friends would only give him a sympathetic look as he glared at their betrayal. Harry guessed it was because they knew she wouldn't really hurt him seriously. He knew that as well, but sometimes he had a problem believing it when he was on the wrong side of another assault. It didn't help that she always changed her tactic when she assaulted him. It was like she didn't want him to think she didn't have a wide variety of abilities.

He did wonder until yesterday when she happened to use something he vaguely remembered as being painful the last time, but it didn't get near him as his Territory acted instantly to keep it from reaching him, reflecting it back to its sender, who displayed fair agility to avoid getting hit. It was then that he realized that she couldn't use the same tactic twice because his Territory memorized what an ability did and knew what to defend him from. Naturally he was upset that she hadn't told him this beforehand.

"You know, if you had mentioned that you couldn't repeat something because of my Territory, I wouldn't have gotten upset or thought you were becoming a sadist," Harry complained. It looked like Alia was ignoring him, but Harry knew she always paid attention to what was going on around her, even when in deep meditation.

"I thought you could figure out for yourself through your Territory," Alia replied in a subdued voice, as she always sounded when letting her Territory wander around her freely. "Sil is one bright Territory for hardly ever being used." Alia always referred to Harry's Territory as either "Silver" or "Sil" and that was what it seemed to respond to no matter what.

"You should really know by now that I have no clue as to what I'm doing with this stuff," Harry replied, stepping back slightly as Alia's Territory reached out for the familiar silver Territory it interacted with daily.

"Sure you do. Even without training, you have exceptional control. You just don't realize that it's your control that makes it so Sil can't wander freely. So do me a favor, and try to believe that you really can control your abilities, no matter how impossible it seems. I'm actually running out of ways to attack with my Territories magic. Soon you'll be dealing with my runes."

"What's the difference?" Harry had to move further back as Alia's Territory reached out to him again, practically begging to be joined with Harry's.

"Runes are an ancient form of magic so they are used differently." Alia suddenly called back her Territory around her and turned to face Harry. "I thought it over and I decided that I'm not going to attack you as much anymore. I can't risk your Territory thinking I'm an enemy because I assault you so much. Sil knows I'm training you but there's only so much I can do before you have to take matters into your own hands."

"Alia, every time I do something right, it's completely by chance. I have no clue what to do."

"Well, you better figure it out because I won't be here forever."

"The least you could do is try to pretend that you actually want me to learn."

Alia studied him for a few more seconds before turning away. Harry could tell that she was upset for some reason. Something about what he said got to her in a way that wasn't intended and Harry wanted to know what caused the sorceress' sudden ire.

"I warned you that I didn't know what I was doing. I have no clue as to how to teach a wizard raised person the fundamentals of sorcery. I've known and used them all my life and can't even remember how I was taught."

"Well, why don't we try another approach? We've already determined that I can regain control of my Territory from a minimal level of influence. Why don't we see how I do controlling it to a certain form, like you do when you let your Territory free?"

"Because the control I have over my Territory is unconscious. I don't have to think about it."

"But isn't that how you want me to do it?"

Alia looked back to Harry. She seemed to be considering the option, but didn't actually give an answer. Instead she said, "That's all for today. I have to make out a report for the Council and then start researching what it means for your Territory to be silver. We'll pick up training day after tomorrow." With that she turned toward the house and disappeared into it. That was the last time Harry saw her for three days.

* * *

It was on the third Alia-less day that Harry finally got to actually talk to Draco Malfoy since the Slytherin had joined them at the Borrow. Harry was sitting outside, enjoying a sunny day in silence when Draco had walked up behind him and had simply taken a seat next to him. 

"How's your training going?" Draco asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Absolutely nowhere," Harry replied without thinking of who he was talking to. "It took Alia one day to figure out that I tend to work best when I'm in danger so she took to attacking me when I don't get something right."

"You are very unusual, Potter," Draco said with a smirk.

"That's what I've heard." Harry paused, deciding if he should ask Draco about his decision not to follow Voldemort. Harry really wanted to know, but he didn't want to make Draco so uncomfortable that he wouldn't talk to him again.

"How do you do it?" Draco suddenly asked. Harry looked over to the blonde and tried to figure out what he meant. "How do you face Voldemort like you have and still go on?"

"You get to the point quickly enough," Harry said with a grin. Draco didn't comment, and Harry thought over his answer. "I really don't know. Whenever I face him, I don't think about myself. Sure, I'm scared out of my mind sometimes, but I know that if I don't do things right, people will get hurt." Sirius' face flashed briefly through his mind and he was bitterly reminded of what happened when he didn't think before he acted. "To some degree, I know its luck, but I just seem to think better when life is at stake."

"You are very weird."

"I thought we already established that." The silence returned with a vengeance, and Harry was once again left to consider how much harm questioning Draco could do. Finally, he decided that he didn't to well not charging in, so that's what he did. "Are you sure about your decision?" he asked. Draco laughed slightly, catching Harry's attention. That wasn't the response he had been expecting. "I didn't know I had said anything funny."

"Do you ever hedge around the subject?"

"Not usually," Harry smiled slightly at Draco's humor. That was a good sign, he hoped. He hadn't been on real speaking terms with him long enough to know. "You don't mind me asking, do you?"

"It doesn't help that you and I have never been on good speaking terms to just sit down and talk to, but I guessed that if I could talk civilly to Weasley, you would be easy." Harry laughed at that.

"Yeah, Ron does have a tendency to fly off the handle. But he's not entirely to blame: it's inbred."

"As for your question, I'm very sure about joining this side. Just by meeting the master madman, I understood why you try so hard to keep him from returning to power."

"It's more than that," Harry said, recalling the words of the Prophecy. Draco's eyes were on him now, but he didn't tell the other boy about it. He didn't want Draco to know about it, despite wanting there to be trust between them. "I know that with our history, it will be hard to work with each other, but I want us to be friends. I want to be able to trust you as much as I trust Hermione and Ron. Having people I care about is one of the reasons I know I can take Voldemort as well as face what's going on with me."

Draco was silent for a few minutes before he stood up and turned back toward the house. "Do you remember the night we met Alia when you collapsed?" Harry went over the night in his head. It wasn't a very clear recollection, but he could recall enough to answer yes. "When Alia was trying to get your Territory under control, you were trying to hurt yourself. That's why Weasley and I had to hold you down. I was actually concerned that you would gouge your own eyes out."

"I read your mind," Harry suddenly realized. He hadn't really thought about what had happened when his Territory first reacted to Alia. He just knew it had hurt like hell and he was glad it hadn't happened again. "I didn't realize it until now. I haven't really thought about that night. You want to let go of everything and start over. I guess from then on, I really didn't think about you having a problem letting it go, as long as you stuck to it."

"Excuse me," a voice caught their attention and they turned to see two men standing a few feet from the porch. Harry was surprised that neither one of them noticed that they were there.

"Can I help you?" Harry asked politely. One of the men was easily over 6 feet tall and was quite well built. He had long auburn hair that was tied back low on his head, and his eyes were dark brown, almost black. The other was about 6 inches shorter and was built for his size. This man also had almost black eyes, but his hair was blonde making an interesting contrast. Both men looked to be at least 25 in terms of age.

Before Harry had a chance to react, his Territory reached out to the others. He closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could on keeping his Territory firmly around his body. _Sil, we don't know them,_ he reasoned as he pulled back on the focal point of the Territory.

_It's Dark Territory,_ his Territory replied and reached out to greet what it thought was a friend.

"Note to self, see Alia every day or Sil gets lonely," Harry mumbled. With one last very strong pull, he was able to bring his Territory back around him and even though it was put out, it didn't try to reach out again.

"We're looking for Alia Jerona and were told she was here," the taller man said. He looked slightly amused and Harry had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what had happened with Harry's Territory.

"She's staying here, but I haven't seen her for a few days."

"That's because she's spent the last few days nagging us to come help her out here with you," the shorter man said, which sounded to Harry like a whine. "We are important to the Sorcery Council. We have a booked schedule and she thinks we can just pack up and come here because she asked us to. Well, Jerona, it ain't that simple."

"Then why are you here?" Alia's voice came from the door and Harry jumped up from his seat with a yell. He had been so focused on making sure his Territory didn't jump back out and listening to the man's raving, he hadn't noticed the sorceress walk up. "Sorry Harry," she said with a smile.

"Alia!" the shorter man suddenly practically jumped up the stairs and wrapped his arms around Alia's neck. "I've been so worried about you. I haven't seen you in forever and then Rokay was attacked." Alia just stood there in the doorway with her arms crossed and appeared to not even notice the man hanging off of her.

"Pierce was just a little excited when we got clearance to come help you," the taller man, who hadn't moved, said.

"I noticed that much when you replied to my report. By the way, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, this is Pierce Baron and his stabilizer Jayce Kaito. They are Representatives of the Sorcery Council."

"Not right now," the man latched onto her, obviously Pierce, said as he stood up straight and placed his hands on his hips with a cocky grin plastered on his face. "We arranged for a leave of absence for a month, just to help you out with Potter. Once we explained to the Council that the Potter guy wasn't making much progress, we were able to convince them that we were the best assistance they could send with our vast experience with preliminary training."

"What kind of argument could you put up to convince them?"

"Not much of one, actually," Jayce answered. "Once I pointed out that even if they turned down the request Pierce would come to the Magic Hunter's aid and it was better to be on his good side with giving him permission than him wanting to get revenge for not allowing him to help you out, they agreed pretty quickly."

"Isn't that commonly called 'blackmail'?" Alia asked with a smirk that showed Harry it would probably be the way she would handle the situation herself.

"Don't even try to imply that you haven't done the same thing to get your way with the Council," Jayce retorted with a smirk, not much different from Alia's.

"I haven't, but Aidrian made a habit of it."

"Sorry to interrupt, but what is going on?" Harry said hastily. Draco obviously found this very funny because he didn't bother trying to hold his laughter, which earned him a glare from the subject of his amusement.

"These guys are the pair that I learned Territory manipulation from. They've been my close friends for years and I report to and take orders from them directly," Alia explained.

"My Territory reacted to them, saying that it was you," Harry really wanted to know what that had been about.

"What exactly did Sil reach out for?"

"It said 'Dark Territory'."

"Oh, well then it's nothing to worry about. Since Sil is only partially Awakened, it doesn't have as sharp of senses as it should. At first glance, it only sees the color of another sorcerer's Territory. Pierce is one of the other four sorcerers with a black Territory. If you had allowed Sil to interact with Pierce's Territory, you wouldn't have to tell it to come back. Good job on that, by the way."

"Thanks," Harry couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Anyway, I asked these guys to come help me train you up. As they put it in their blackmail…"

"…Convincing tactics…" Pierce corrected.

"…explanation, they are the best at prelim training. Before you ask, preliminary training is the proper way to say 'Territory manipulation'. With them here to help out, you'll have Sil completely ready for its full power in no time."

"Did you put him in isolation?" Jayce asked.

"No, I was going to, but then realized how little his Territory was picking up and didn't think it was necessary. I was able to keep it under control for a while, but I don't need to anymore. He learned how to bypass it so he only sees it when he wants to."

"That was quick."

"He's pretty adaptive once you get the right person telling him what to do. He was also able to find his focal point with very little help from me."

"What is it?"

"His scar. I figured that his Territory partially Awoke on the night he was attacked by Voldemort when he was a baby. But since then, because he doesn't know how to control it, it hasn't been used or even reacted to anything until it interacted with my Territory. His scar holds magical properties that are similar to ours and I think that without it, he would never have been able to access his sorcery."

"But if that's true, Alia, then every wizard and witch are potentially a sorcerer," Pierce reasoned. Harry frowned slightly at the sudden change in the sorcerer's demeanor. He was no longer acting like an unusually immature adult, but someone who had seen harsh battle. Harry now saw something in Alia and Pierce's eyes that reflected his own.

"I think it's a combination of different aspects, but as of now, that's the conclusion my research has come to. I'll have to do a lot more digging either way."

"Then return to America and go through the archives at the Council and Rokay and finish what research you can. Find an explanation for this. That's an order, Magic Hunter. You have two weeks."

"I'll send a report of what I find."

"No, there have been too many reports intercepted lately. Just tell us when you come back."

"This house has to be running out of rooms," Harry said. How the Weasley's had managed to keep Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the twins in the house for this long was shocking. When Draco and Alia had joined the pack, Harry was just downright confused on how they managed it. Taking on Pierce and Jayce seemed impossible.

"Well, Jayce and I can just take Alia's until she comes back. Until then, we can put something up for us to stay in once she's back. Since the Burrow has the appropriate wards and defenses already up, we might just stay here and be back-up for Alia in case she needs help at Hogwarts."

"If you want, I can ask Molly if she can find an extra mattress for the room," Harry offered. Alia started giggling, a sound that Harry didn't expect from the girl and Pierce just grinned.

"Don't worry about it. Pierce and I will just share the bed," Jayce said as he walked up to his partner and Alia. "It's what we always do anyway." With that he wrapped his arms around Pierce's shoulders and Harry finally understood the implications, turning a dark shade of red.

"You might need to make sure I have a different mattress when I get back though. I'll be damned if I'm going to be sleeping in the same bed as you sex-crazed idiots."

"We are not idiots!" both men replied in unison.

"That wasn't the point."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Draco, who had been completely forgotten by Harry, asked. He actually sounded anxious. "I want to do whatever I can to help now that I've joined this side of the war."

"You might be able to help Harry with his training. We need to try to find Harry's stabilizer or we won't know what to prepare him for. If you could, Draco, I would like you to keep constant interaction with Harry as much as possible, especially when he's training. Maybe his reactions to you will give us an idea of what we should look for." Alia paused and seemed to consider something. "I'm not asking something too out of line, taking your history with each other?"

"We've already discussed that and it's fine with me," Draco answered. A smirk appeared on his face, reminding Harry of ones he had seen when Draco was being particularly cunning. "Looks like you're stuck with me, Potter," he said. Harry sensed an underlying of amusement in the tone and he grinned back."

"Don't worry, Malfoy, I'll make you regret ever asking."

* * *

Harry preferred Pierce's training methods to Alia's hands down. Not only did the man let him sleep in until at least 10, the man not waking up himself until after 11, but he had a way of explaining things to Harry so that his inexperienced mind could adapt quickly. He hadn't had problems with his Territory in four days because his concentration was so easily held now. He actually barely had to think about it anymore, which helped him regain any dignity he had lost while having to maintain his control while trying to make his way around the house in a normal fashion. The bruises he had received from running into objects, namely the wall as well as falling down the stairs were only starting to dim. 

Pierce and Jayce was definitely an interesting couple. The fact that they were romantically involved was actually considered very cute to the females of the house and the male population accepted it with good graces. It seemed that the wizarding world was not in the least hung up with sexual preference as the Muggles were. Harry was glad for that, considering how little he cared: one less thing to deal with.

Over the last few weeks, he had also learned a lot about Draco Malfoy. He realized quickly enough that most of the time in the previous years, Draco acted out of respect for his family. Now that he didn't have the bonds to his family, Harry noticed that even though he still acted superior to pick on him, he was an all-around decent guy. Draco had slowly worked his way into the trio of friends and had become like a lost member of the group. He would get into deep conversations with Hermione on involved topics that they both found interest in, excluding house elf liberations. Ron and Draco's common pastime around each other turned out to be arguing and they usually tried to always see how many insults they could throw at each other in a given amount of time, which was always amusing to observe. Harry had taken to long conversations with the Slytherin, either serious or laughing about the last few years since they had met.

"Hey Harpo," Pierce poked his head and then his body into the room Harry occupied and when he saw that Harry was there talking to Ron and Draco, he motioned for the teen to follow him.

"Harpo?" Ron inquired with a grin.

"I had nothing to do with it. It was totally his idea. He just started calling me that the second day he was here," Harry explained. The nickname had annoyed him at first, but he realized that he wasn't going to be able to stop the sorcerer from using it so he tried to ignore it.

"You think the name is bad enough. Harry's actually starting to answer to it," Draco added with a smirk. The Slytherin had tried to use the nickname many times, but every time he did he ended up with some part of his body in pain. He had even tried calling it from a distance, but Harry had still managed to knock him over with his Territory. "I suggest you don't try it. I seem to end up hurting whenever I do."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Just feel lucky we aren't in school or you'd be seeing first-hand what spells I learned," Harry threatened as he left the room.

He found Pierce and Jayce downstairs sitting at the table talking as they munched on some leftovers from breakfast. They seemed to never keep to a certain eating schedule and were never present at meals. They would always come in their own time. Actually, if Harry didn't train with them daily he doubted he would ever see them at all. The third person at the table caught Harry's attention though. Even without seeing a face, as the person was facing away from him, he knew it was Alia from the reaction of his Territory. The senses of his Territory had been trained as well as his ability to control and interpret what was sensed.

Sil jumped out to greet a highly missed friend and Alia obviously had no problem with the action because she allowed her Territory to reach out in response. It confused Harry slightly at how his Territory felt like it actually relaxed at the contact. He made a mental note to make an inquiry about that later.

"Hey there Alia, long time no see," Harry said as he moved to sit down on the opposite side of the table from the sorceress.

"At least you got daylight in the last week. I was stuck in the middle of those moldy parchments that make up the Sorcery Archive. Can you actually believe I got lost in that place?"

"Yeah, considering Jayce has done the same thing on before," Pierce said with a wicked grin to his stabilizer.

"That was totally not my fault," Jayce defended with a slight red tint appearing on his cheeks. "Her mother told me to find something on black Territories and one of the shelves fell on me. Once I got up I forgot where I was."

"That is just like you to blame inanimate objects and my mom." To Harry, Alia added, "Jayce has always been a little put out that I'm more powerful that his love."

"Only because Pierce doesn't seem to go looking around for Spikes," Jayce defended. Harry decided the three of them argued like the Weasleys.

"Leave me out of this," Pierce interrupted.

"Can I come back later when you've finished your little feud?" Harry asked while he had the chance.

"I thought you would want to take notes on arguing with Alia since you have to deal with her for a long time," Jayce said with a shrug.

"Somehow I don't buy that the argument was for my benefit. Anyway, I can hold my own when it comes to verbal disagreement."

"You've obviously never truly argued with a female then," Pierce threw in.

"I try not to. It's been scientifically proven that they can walk circles around us."

"We know, she's done it to everybody," the two men said in unison. They did that a lot, giving Harry the feeling that a sorcerer and their stabilizer had some sort of mental connection similar to that of the sorcerer and Territory.

"Anyway, now that the pleasantries…"

"…also knows as the mutual disagreement…" Pierce corrected.

"…are out of the way, we can actually plan out more than a week in advance with this stupid situation."

"Harry has been making awesome progress in the last week. You were understating how adaptive he really is."

"Honestly, I didn't know how good he really was since I didn't know how to train him up. Thank you so much for helping out as much as you have. It was better for him and that's what matters."

"We need to know right away what you found."

"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find much. There are absolutely no records of someone having a silver Territory. The best thing I could find was a book that said there was a sorcerer that had a white Territory that could have physical presence. I've already determined that Harry's Territory can be solid. The problem is there are limited records from that sorcerer and so far no repeats of the condition until now."

"What time frame are we looking at?"

"It was about the same time the Ministry called for the murder of every sorcerer."

"It falls close to your case," Pierce said, then turned to his stabilizer. "Two magical anomalies in close proximity to each other for a long period of time could cause problems."

"What do you mean 'two anomalies'?" Harry cut in. He was used to having weird magic properties tied to him –having the greatest Dark Wizard connected to your brain had that sort of effect on a person – but he thought that Alia was a normal sorceress, despite being on the very strong side of the spectrum.

"Surely she's told her about her use of runes."

"She mentioned using runes to train me and I kinda remember her pulling a sword out of a glowing drawing on the wall the night I met her."

"His Territory initially reacted to me using my raw power to form the Shintatsu Rune Blade."

"Mind explaining that one to me?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Just describe runes to him. He'll need to know in case you have to use them with him around," Jayce reasoned.

"I was planning on telling him anyway. Runes are an ancient form of sorcery. No sorcerer has been able to reach a high enough level of power to use them in centuries. When I hit my third Sorcery Spike, I got such a burst of magic, even if it was originally evil, I hit a level high enough for my magic to be channeled through a rune. I found out completely by accident but I've never stopped using them."

"How did you find out that you could?" Harry asked, which earned him a deep blush from the sorceress.

Pierce answered instead, a grin on his face. "We have ancient runes posted around the Council and Rokay as our way of never forgetting old ways of our powers. Alia stepped on a water rune when making her way to one of her classes and activated it. She flooded three levels of the school in under 5 seconds. It was hilarious to those on the higher levels and unfortunate to those on the lower three that fell victim to her almighty power." Pierce was downright exstatic to tell that particular story since it had been one of Alia's most embarrassing ones and not many sorcerer's _didn't_ know how Alia became aware of her now trademark rune use. "After that, she wasn't allowed anywhere near the runes at Rokay. They actually had to erase most of the runes in Rokay and the Council and restrict where Alia went in both buildings until she got control of their use."

Harry was unsure of how to react for a few seconds before the hilarity of the event sunk in and he started shaking with laughter, trying to hold it in as long as possible. He really didn't want to find out how much pain would come if Alia decided to get violent. The glare that the sorceress was sending a smirking Pierce and a laughing Jayce didn't help and soon all males in the room were laughing.

"It wasn't my fault the people who built Rokay decided to put runes on the floor. Who would put water on the floor anyway?" Alia attempted to defend herself. She knew it was hopeless, but she had to try anyway. "All joking aside, now I can either use my Territory to activate and control a rune or I use activation powder." She reached into one of the numerous pouches around her belt and when she withdrew her fingers from the pouch, there was a layer of white powder covering her fingers.

"The powders and runes she uses are variations that only take the basic foundations of the originals we have recorded in books. She changed them to react best to her abilities, making it impossible to duplicate even if another sorcerer had the power to use them."

"Not only that but each rune falls under a certain category that determines what activation powder it needs to be used. Only I know the combinations."

"You really wanted to insure that nobody got a hold over their power," Harry observed. He hadn't heard many cases where there were this many specifications to any use of magic.

"If somebody else regained the ability to use runes that wasn't on our side, they would be a force to be reckoned with without trying. In my opinion, I don't have enough security over them."

"Well, what about that sword that you forged from that rune the night I met you? I don't recall you using any activation powder."

"I don't have to with the Shintatsu. I forged the sword a few years ago when I was first given the title of Magic Hunter. I tapped into the raw power of my Territory and molded it into every molecule of the sword's hilt and blade. The sword ended up so powerful that even a Muggle could see the aura of power it held, even if I did have some invisibility rune placed on it. So, I created a rune that also held traces of my raw power. The result was the rune that is used as its sheath. It breaks it down into magic and then stores the magic in my focal point. Do you remember what my focal point looks like?" Harry thought it over and recalled a picture of her focal point.

"Yeah, it was a circle divided into four different colors and a black center," Harry recalled.

"The black center is where the sword is stored. Before I forged the sword, my focal point was over my heart, which I have yet to find an explanation for, but when I created the Sheath Rune, it changed to my left hand. When I withdraw the sword, I have to do it with my left hand over the center of the rune so the black center of my focal point lines up with the rune perfectly. It was hard to do at first, but now I'm so used to it I don't even have to think about it."

"Wow, that's unbelievable," Harry responded quietly. Alia shrugged and looked to Pierce.

"Well, he's up to date on my abilities, now what are we gonna do with him?"

"We think his stabilizer is Draco Malfoy," Pierce answered calmly.

"Excuse me, what?" Harry and Alia replied in unison.

"The boy seems to be a good bet. He is a strong wizard and his personality is much more laid back than Harry's. Overall, they are reading like sorcery partners. I don't know why you are so surprised Alia. You are the one that first realized how easily they interacted with each other."

"I know, but he interacts just as well with Ron and Hermione."

"We noticed that as well and even though they do have similar readings to Harry and Draco, they are not as strong," Jayce explained. Even though Jayce was a stabilizer, he was originally a Muggle, so his body had adapted certain attributes from his partner, one being the ability to read partnerships easily. He had been the one to determine that Aidrian would be the best stabilizer for Alia.

"Meaning they are his back-up," Alia concluded. Harry remained shocked into silence. He was supposed to be bonded to Draco Malfoy? He was shocked, that's for sure, but in a way, it made a lot of sense to him. "Do you think that Draco turning away from Voldemort had anything to do with Harry's power gaining more power when he met me?"

"It's possible that they may not have been compatible until now and the combination of being around its stabilizer and your Territory could have been what triggered it."

"All this thinking is driving me nuts!" Pierce suddenly exclaimed. "I'm way past my thinking capacity for the day!" He looked around at the other three who were just staring at him in response, Jayce grinning slightly, and he smiled. "Okay, I feel better. It was just getting too tense."

"Pierce, you need to start giving us warning next time you are going to go temporarily insane," Alia said with a sigh.

"He warned me," Jayce said smugly.

"And how does that help us?" Harry asked. He still wasn't used to Pierce's habit of switching between "childish" and "serious fighter" and was beginning to believe that Pierce was worse than Dumbledore in some ways. The thought alone was frightening.

"Either way, we have to get permission from Harry and Draco as well as send in a request to the Council to get permission to perform the bonding ritual."

"Don't worry about the Council, we can handle them. All we really need is to talk to Draco and we'll be set," Pierce said. "Since we're already here, you and I can perform the ritual."

"You might want to rethink that. Without my own stabilizer, I can't bond someone else."

"Sure you can, just anchor your mind to either your focal point or you can use Jayce. You've done it before, so don't even think of saying you can't."

"I used him as a anchor before I was bonded to Aidrian and it was never for anything like bonding."

"Hey, you've bonded a lot of people in the last few years. You being up to snuff will help me out since I haven't done it in years."

"Um, what do you do to bond?" Harry asked. This bonding thing was becoming less appealing by the way Alia was fighting her involvement.

"We have to manually connect your mind and parts of your magic to your stabilizer. Two high level sorcerers are required and at the moment, the only ones who are probably even close to considering the task are Pierce and I. I'm just going to warn you that not many people in the Council are supportive of our involvement in the war even if we don't really have a choice anymore."

"We also have to give you a small connection to your back-up stabilizer right now so we don't have to be concerned with it later," Jayce added.

"What's the deal with the back-up?"

"It's our fail-safe. Having a back-up is just our way of ensuring that nothing too bad happens in case a sorcerer and their stabilizer are separated, especially if the connection between them is broken."

Harry looked over to Alia in confusion. She made a point to remind them often that she had no stabilizer, but why didn't she have a back-up?

"I do have a back-up, but I have already decided not to put out a call to her until I know I won't be able to perform normally. Since I have more conditioned power than most other sorcerers it will take me longer to need one. But if I continue to use major amounts of magic at a time, I'll up my chances of losing control."

"Please tell me you stabilized what you could while you were at the Council," Pierce practically begged her to say that she had with his eyes.

"Of course I did. I paid the Mediator a visit and he flushed out the instability I was showing. There wasn't much to get out."

"It's only been a few weeks. The next time you'll even be able to consider seeing him won't be until Christmas."

"I'll be fine." She turned to Harry quickly before saying, "A Mediator is a sorcerer that can flush the magic that unstabilizes and turns you crazy out of your system. It's one of the types of magic a green Territory can have."

"Alia, what if you hit another Spike?" Alia paused and Harry noticed how she wouldn't look at Pierce. "I'm trying to not even consider if you hit an evil one which is too likely with what's been going on here during the last few years." Alia didn't say anything for a while, the room immersed in silence as Pierce waited for any kind of reaction from her.

"I know what will happen if I lose control just like you know what you have to do if that happens."

This time, Pierce wouldn't look at Alia. "I know. If it happens, I'll take care of it personally, which probably doesn't help you to any."

"I wouldn't have it any other way. I figure that if someone should save me from insanity, it should be the one who taught me how to avoid it. But, I'm fine now so we don't have to even think about it right now."

"Wait, what would he have to do?" Harry interrupted quickly. He really didn't like how wrong the conversation felt.

"A fully unstabilized sorcerer is dangerous to everybody they come in contact with. Once gone, they usually can't be changed back to the way they were. Since the person becomes a victim of their own power, we can't allow them to suffer." Pierce stopped and didn't look as if he was going to continue, but Harry had heard all he needed.

"So you kill them, don't you?" he finished in a low voice. To him, this was betrayal at its worst. Just because most couldn't go back didn't mean that they shouldn't be given a fair chance to try.

"I understand how you feel about this, but there's nothing we can do to change it," Alia attempted to reason. "This is how it's always been, even since before the Ministry interfered with our ways of life. If you hate what we do, then you are required to hate me because that is my duty as the Magic Hunter. Just take my word for it when I say that what I do is barbaric and these two have had similar tactics. This is our dark side that only sorcerers know about."

"You wouldn't tell us wizards because you were afraid they wouldn't give you freedom," Harry shot. He understood that quite a few wizards had dark tendencies, like using the Unforgivable curses like they were Transfiguration charms, but he just couldn't believe that all sorcerers could act so viciously if they needed to.

"This is our way of life. We have a harsh deal, sure, but it's the way we are. We can't change it or we would put people in danger." Harry didn't respond. Sure, he understood being on the wrong side of a crappy deal, but he still felt it was too much. "Harry, most sorcerers are one Spike away from being twice as bad as Voldemort. Unfortunately, the Dark Lord knows that." Harry looked up to her quickly. "The reports of missing sorcerers have passed a hundred. Most of them disappeared when Rokay was attacked. Voldemort is using us to build an army that the wizards have little chance of standing up against." When Harry didn't respond, Alia sighed in frustration. "Either way, you need to get bonded or you'll end up with the same problem as me. You'll start feeling the magic around you and eventually you will start to feel what those around you do so much you could feel pain from it. What you feel becomes so insignificant that all you want is for it to stop, so you lose concentration and your Territory will do as it pleases, meaning it will hurt those who are causing you pain. It will see everybody as something to defend you against and will do anything it takes for them to stop hurting you. So Potter, how many people are you willing to endanger?"

"I'll talk to Draco and see how he feels about it."

"Just make sure that's all you talk to him about. He's just a wizard without the bond and leaking our secrets is a serious crime that holds some harsh punishment."

"Yeah, I figured you would say something along those lines."

* * *

"Let me try and get this as straight as I possibly can," Draco said from where he was sitting on Harry's bed. "All three Pierce, Alia, and Jayce, who isn't even a sorcerer, think I am the best bet as your stabilizer." 

"Yup," Harry answered simply from the windowsill of the room.

"So, now that they are so sure, they want to get our brains bonded together for the rest of our lives."

"Yup," Harry repeated.

"So, in the end, it means I won't be a simple wizard and I'm keeping you from going crazy and eventually finding Voldemort's ideals not all that bad."

"You got the jist of it."

"Sounds like an interesting prospect to me. Let's do it."

"Okay, I'll go tell Alia," Harry stood and made it to the door before his brain caught up with what Draco's answer had been. "Hold on a second, did you just agree to do it?" Draco laughed at the response. He was finding Harry to be a source of constant amazement as well as humor with his attitude and how his mind worked. Just watching him learn control over his Territory had been amazing to Draco because of how adaptive Harry could be once he understood what he was supposed to do.

"I think it's a good idea, and from what the sorcery know-it-alls say that it's the best thing, then I have no problem with it. Both Alia and Pierce have earned my respect and I don't see them as people who would do something without reason."

"Actually they are pretty conservative and very thoughtful in the actions they take, if you can ignore Pierce's behavior and stupid nicknames and Alia's training methods." Draco laughed again, knowing full well what tactics Alia had used in her attempts at teaching Harry. He just hoped, for the sake of the students, that she didn't teach Defense Against the Dark Arts in the same fashion.

"So, I trust them not to lead us wrong on something as important as this. I also doubt they would suggest it if they weren't absolutely sure of their observations and decision. They also allowed you the freedom to decide for yourself. I think it has been thought through enough. I think we should do it."

"You do realize what it implies, right? I talked to Alia about it and the bonding itself requires two high level sorcerers and they go through your brain and magic and link us together. The bond can be broken, but that connection can never really disappear. There will always be part of me in you and vice versa until the day we die."

"Should we assume that you'll be the first to go through with that part?" Draco joked with a grin.

"A few years ago, I might have taken offense by that, but now I don't see it as being too far from the truth. So is the fate of the hero."

"All joking aside, being bonded to you is an appealing prospect and I actually look forward to seeing what it's going to be like."

Harry just looked at the Slytherin for a few seconds with a confused expression. "Why?" he finally asked. "Ron and Hermione always say how much they appreciate not being able to know what's going on inside my head."

"They do have a point, but maybe I can find something in there I can use against Weasley."

"Try using Fred and George. Their knowledge of Ron combined with their talent for pranks make them a force to be reckoned with."

"I've noticed this, but you are still the best friend and I already get along with you. I'd have to convince them that I merely want to torture their brother instead of kill him."

"I'm not sure how well that would blow over, but I give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Is that supposed to be a comforting sentiment?"

"I'll let you know when you convince them to help you."

"So you can be a sadist," Draco observed with a grin.

"Alia's rubbing off on me," Harry replied kind-heartedly with a shrug.

* * *

"Alright, then we might as well set up right away," Pierce said and all but bounded out of the room. 

"Where's he going?" Harry asked cautiously.

"He's just getting the materials we need for the bonding ritual," Jayce explained. "We're just lucky he thought to bring them before we left the Council. If he hadn't we would have to go back to America, perform the ritual and then come back here after the fifteen minutes it averages to take."

"It's weird that Pierce was the one to think about it. He's usually the one running out the door without his shoes on."

"You are exaggerating, right?" Draco hoped she was. He was now concerned for the safety of his sanity. If this guy was as scatterbrained as they were implying, then who's to say he won't scatter Draco's brain all over the place.

"Not by much. When it comes to something trivial, Pierce can be a total moron, but when it gets serious, he can match wits and brains with the best of them."

"Too bad he can't be in a state of permanent battle or wizards wouldn't even consider messing with us," Alia added dryly.

"Why doesn't that make me feel better about my partner?" Jayce asked softly.

"As I recall, Kaito, you were the one who followed him around for four months before the Council finally allowed you to get bonded."

"What can I say; he's really irresistible at first. By the time I really got to know him, he just wouldn't leave me alone."

"That's because your charm had become irresistible and I couldn't live without you by my side, Love," Pierce said as he walked out of the house with a small leather bag slung over his right shoulder.

"Don't you mean, you were bonded already and you didn't want to go nuts?" Alia put in for Jayce.

"You two just ignore them," Pierce turned his attention to Harry and Draco. "They may seem all nice and considerate, but in reality they have really crappy personalities and you can't stand them for very long. I'm just unfortunate to be bonded to such a cruel man."

"What, is he withholding sex again?" Alia asked with the most evil grin Harry had ever seen on her face. He was sure that if he hadn't been distracted by her expression, he would have been embarrassed by the subject. As it was, he just decided to stay out of the discussion.

"Of course he is!" Pierce exclaimed. "His excuse is it's not considerate to screw in another person's house unless you pay rent."

"Are those actually his words?"

"Yes, for once he quoted me properly," Jayce joined the conversation to try and save face.

"It's only because you say it to me every time I ask," Pierce whined. "Every time I bring it up, it's the same excuse. I bet he just can't get it up."

"You can stop now!" Harry interrupted. He could only take so much sexual innuendo before he got too uncomfortable to stand anymore. He had reached his limit a few sentences ago, but his mouth finally started working at the last comment.

"I don't know, Harry, this could be some useful blackmail material," Draco said with a grin.

"I refuse to know anymore about Jayce withholding sex because he can't get it up." Once the sentence was finished, Harry's face turned a very, _very _dark shade of red. He decided that they were doing this just to embarrass him when the other four started laughing. His suspicion was further proven at Alia's reply.

"You can always cover your ears. We're not forcing you to listen in."

"We can continue as Alia prepares the ritual if you want," Pierce said as he handed the bag he brought out off to Alia, who took it and immediately began digging through it.

"Please, no," Harry moaned. He knew if they did continue he would probably be embarrassed to within the last inch of his sanity. He decided to watch Alia set up the ritual and tuned out the conversation that resumed around him.

Alia walked to the middle of the yard behind the house and set the bag down on the ground. She stood up straight and closed her eyes. Her Territory became visible around her, meaning she was going to use it. The black veil of magic that made up her Territory spread around her form to create a dome of magic around her.

"Alia is better at using her Territory to purify the magic around her than Pierce is," Jayce explained as he stepped up next to Harry. "That's why we aren't too worried about her going without a stabilizer for a while."

"So, what exactly is she doing?" Harry asked. He had never seen Alia actually use her Territory as she was doing now. It felt more like a part of her than it ever had when it was connected to Harry's Territory or just moving freely.

"She's checking the area we need for anything that might mess them up when bonding you. Once she's checked the area, she has a rune that she uses to seal off the area. We usually need at least a 25 foot area so that's what she's clearing."

"What determines how much room you need?"

"The main factors are the two sorcerers that are doing the bonding, the color and power of their Territories, the strength of the ones being bonded, whether the stabilizer is a wizard or Muggle, how experienced the sorcerer being bonded is in managing their thoughts, which determines their hold on their Territory. The list can go on for a while."

"I got the basic idea." He wasn't very experienced with managing his Territory, but he had gotten pretty good at sorting his thoughts because of his Occlumency training, which had been completed at the beginning of the summer. Pierce had already determined that it was a factor in how easy it was for Harry to control his Territory.

"Once the area is cleared and she gets the rune up, she'll draw the Ritual Rune and place you and Draco in the appropriate places on it. Then you get the almighty task of standing around for about ten minutes while they pick your brain. It's not bad and you usually can't tell that they are even doing anything. At least I didn't when I was bonded to Pierce."

"Can they pick up memories or thoughts?" Harry asked. He really didn't want those two picking up any particularly embarrassing moments of Harry's life, since he was sure he would never hear the end of it.

"They could, but they don't like to. Memories have a bad tendency of pulling them into it and its hell to get them out. Don't worry about it so much. It'll be over before you know it and you won't have to worry about finding one later."

"Easy for you to say, you didn't spent the last six years fighting with the person you're bonded to." That wasn't really a concern, but it was a fact that Harry was finding hard to ignore.

"True, but if it wasn't meant to be, either you or Draco wouldn't have agreed. You should know now that sorcerer's are very touchy about destiny and prophecies. But, they don't believe in Fate."

"What's the difference?"

"Their thinking goes along the lines of destiny is your choice and fate is not within your hands. A prophecy is a guide to your destiny, no matter what you choose. In case you're curious, Alia and Pierce know about your prophecy."

"How do they know about it?" Harry asked on the defensive side. The prophecy was a secret that he was adamant about keeping and he was slightly angry that people he barely knew were aware of it.

"Don't get too upset about it. They know because they chose to make themselves a part of it through their own prophecies. If they want you to know more, they'll tell you. For now, let's get your brain connected to Malfoy's."

Jayce walked over to where Alia was kneeling down, drawing what Harry guessed was the Ritual Rune considering how much moving around she was doing. Draco moved to stand behind Harry and touched Harry's arm hesitantly.

"If you run now, I won't blame you," Draco said, bringing a smile to Harry's face.

"You know, for some reason, I really don't care anymore. It's like something snapped and I realize that this is what's best." Draco looked at Harry incredulously for a few seconds.

"What brought the clarity?"

"I just realized that Alia and Pierce aren't as foreign to me as I thought they were."

"We're ready, guys," Alia called and the two walked over to her. As they approached her, Harry felt her Territory fold around them, sealing them within its power. His own Territory reacted by spreading out around him to connect with its friend. Harry let it for a few seconds before pulling it back in. "Pierce is going to stretch his Territory to match mine, so keep Sil at your body."

Once the warning was out, Harry felt the second Territory pass over him. It wasn't a familiar feeling since he had never felt Pierce's Territory before, but it wasn't unpleasant and it didn't take him a long time to get used to it. Eventually, the only Territory he felt was Alia's.

"Draco, stand in the empty circle next to Jayce. Harry, you stand in the other empty circle opposite of Draco," Pierce instructed. Harry looked down to see a rune that easily covered ten feet around Alia. There were all sorts of shapes evenly spread across the rune as well as writing in the form of symbols. Near the center were four circles big enough to stand in: two had identical symbols inside them and the other two were empty. Draco moved to where he was instructed to stand and Harry moved to the other empty circle. "Now just stand there and be bored while we work our butts off."

"Could you at least act the part of a serious human being?" Harry asked. He really didn't want Pierce to be carefree right now. This was his brain the sorcerer was going to be picking through after all.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Pierce," Alia snapped. "We have a job to do." Pierce nodded and stepped into one of the symbolized circles. Alia walked over to Jayce. "Hand, chest , or head?" she asked.

"Which would be easiest for you to connect to?" Now Harry was completely lost.

"Well, unless your brain moved, probably your head. You won't be able to remove the rune until I stop feeding power to it." She pulled a stick of what looked like black chalk from her pocket.

"Is that chalk or lead?" Jayce asked cautiously. He knew Alia wouldn't use anything too harmful to him, but not being careful could be hazardous to his health.

"It's coal. Normally I use chalk, but it doesn't draw well on skin," Alia explained as she pushed Jayce's bangs out of his face and began drawing a rune on his forehead. When it was complete, she rubbed the tips of her fingers over the rune and it glowed slightly in response. "You shouldn't have to connect your mind to me. The rune will automatically create an anchor for me and I should be able to come out on my own. Keep an eye on Pierce though. He's really out of practice in bonding."

"You think I don't know that?" Jayce replied with a grin.

"You think I can't hear you?" Pierce yelled to his offenders. Alia grinned and moved to stand in the other circle across from Pierce.

"The Magic Hunter Alia Jerona and Sorcery Council Representative Pierce Baron declare an official report to the Sorcery Council. On August 18 we bond Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy as sorcerer and stabilizer," Pierce said quietly. It seemed like he was talking to nobody, but Harry could feel the magic involved in his words. He was sending a message to the Council simply by speaking.

"Okay, we're really starting now," Alia said.

With that said, Alia and Pierce closed their eyes and the rune below them came to life with a bright glow. Harry felt his Territory spread out around him and eventually move to match the outermost line of the rune.

_Don't worry, your Territory is supposed to do that,_ Alia's voice filled his mind. _Let Sil be free. It knows what to do._

The glow of the rune was changing now. The color of the glow divided into five colors, each color designated to a different area of the rune. The circle at Harry and Draco's feet changed to a white barrier that reached up and covered their whole bodies. The circles Pierce and Alia stood within acted in a similar fashion, the only difference being the color to match their black Territories.

_The barriers of white magic connect the unbonded forces together. The black barriers connect the guides to each other as well as to the unbonded._ In a way, Alia was explaining what was going to Harry, but he also felt that this was something Alia was supposed to do. Alia needed to direct the rune but with her Territory connected to both Pierce's and Harry's her commands were more open than they would normally be.

_The rune's preparations are complete, Jerona. We can start connecting them,_ Pierce informed all.

_Let's connect their minds first. It will be easier to connect Harry's magic to Draco that way,_ Alia replied.

Harry felt Alia's mind prod his a few seconds later. He tried not to block her out, but it was hard not to just tell her to get out or get thrown out. It didn't help that he kept getting glances of memories that he preferred to keep buried.

_Alia, you're looking in memories. Don't go too far,_ Harry registered Pierce's warning and he knew Alia did as well, but she didn't change her pattern.

_I have to find the event of his initial Awakening. It was when he was attacked by Voldemort as a baby so I have no choice but to look through memories to find it._

_What should I look for in Draco?_ Pierce sounded unsure. Alia thought it over for a few seconds before deciding.

_Find when he changed sides. His mind was clearest at that point._ At that point a flash of green light blinded Harry and he was tempted to cover his eyes reflexively, but remained still. _I'm sorry Harry, I didn't expect that thread to be it. Pierce, are you ready?_

_Yes, I have the thread._

_Harry, I'm going to be drawing what is called a Thought Thread from your mind. It's a concentration of your thought and emotions that is the foundation of your link to Draco. It is also connected to your sorcery. Once it is connected to Draco, you will Awaken fully._

Once Alia was finished with her explanation, she pulled on whatever she had grasped onto within Harry's mind and drew it out of him, connecting it to the power that bound him to Draco. As soon as it was connected, Harry's mind was opened to that of the Slytherin's. It was like he was surrounded by Draco's calm and organized demeanor and he was aware that Draco was surrounded in whatever made Harry who he was.

_The threads are merging, Alia. Get ready to capture Harry's focal point._

_Okay, nobody said anything about capturing a focal point!_ Harry called without realizing he had broadcasted that to everybody. He didn't even know he could broadcast or he would have before. He realized how nervous he was getting at the exclamation though.

_Don't worry, Harpo. All we're doing is putting some of the power from your focal point into the link between you so Draco can take some of the pressure of its power off of you. It's not going to do anything to it except make it easier for you to be a sorcerer,_ Pierce comforted.

It was when the sorcerer stopped talking that Harry realized it was a distraction from Alia bending his Territory so the lightning bolt that was his focal point was connected with the threads between him and Draco. It was slightly uncomfortable for his focal point to be moved by someone else's command, but it didn't matter once it touched the connection.

It was like someone opened Harry's eyes to everything around him. But it also seemed like nothing else mattered except the blonde across from him. He realized that there was a deep care for Draco that had been there for a while now, but had been ignored in light of it seeming irrelevant. It was a different care - and love - than what he felt for Hermione and Ron; it was stronger in a way. Harry realized what brought it out: the feeling was mirrored in Draco. Something had changed between them that was so crucial to what they were supposed to be to each other, butit had happened so steadily that neither one of them noticed.

It took Harry a few minutes to realize that the rune that had surrounded them had stopped glowing and was now just a big drawing on the ground. He blinked a few times and had to really focus on seeing through his Territory, which was a lot brighter than he remembered.

"Well, that's over and done with," Alia said. She called her Territory back around her and sighed. "You have one crazy mind there, Harry. I almost got pulled in with every thread I looked at."

"That's not very comforting to know considering I now have to keep that mind sane. Alia," Draco said with a smirk. He walked over to Harry and touched Harry's arm. At the touch, Harry's vision cleared and it was like his Territory wasn't even there anymore.

"How did you do that?" Harry asked after a few seconds of realizing what Draco had done.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Pierce said with a grin from where he was rubbing at Jayce's forehead, removing the rune that had been drawn there. "I figured that since I was in there already, I should teach Draco techniques of how to help Harpo out. I implanted the information directly into the connection between them. This way we don't have to waste too much time teaching them the basics."

We should talk, Draco's voice echoed gently through Harry's mind and he had to say it was more comforting than anything he had ever felt. Before Harry could respond, Draco leaned down slightly and touched his lips to Harry's. Now Harry's brain shut down and he couldn't think at all. He did feel that Draco had been wanting to do something of the sort for a few days now, but hadn't because he didn't want to ruin the friendship that had been something he thought dear.

Yeah, I guess we should, Harry responded once his thoughts were able to form anything coherent.

* * *

Yay! im done im done im done im done! i broke 10,000 words! yayyayyayyayyayyay. 

as you can tell, i'm a little excited that i finished this chapter. it was driving me nuts with how many times i changed my mind about how it was gonna go. curse my brain and its change mindedness...i know thats not a word, but i don't care.

anyway **Review Replies:**

**zeynel:** thank you thank you thank you and you can say you love it as much as you want. it makes me feel good and gives me a reason to continue. you want more, you got it...over 10,000 words more to be exact (i cant get past that). i've dropped hints of what it means for Harry's Territory being silver in the chapters, but i can't tell you exactly what it means. im not that much of a spoiler, even though i gave one in the last chapter.  
thank you for the review and compliments on the story. please review again it helps me get out a chapter.

**Kevin:** yay, it's kevin. i really love your reviews cuz they remind me of something i completely space on. do you have an email address you can include so i can inform you when a new chapter has been updated. you are currently a fave reviewer.  
you made a good point in the sorcerer acting as a wizard. it is not far from the truth. because harry's power was only partially Awakened, he could only access about half of his power. in the story i concentrate on the Territory, but the Awakening of a sorcerer determines all their magic. with only half of his power, he only registers as a wizard because the other half of his magic is what would make him a sorcerer. he is actually now officially a sorcerer, but he will still be taught as a wizard because that's what works best for him.  
Harry using wandless magic is currently an irrelevant point because the focus is on keeping his Territory under control. And Alia doesn't know about his use of wandless magic and would actually probably ignore it further if she knew it was uncontrollable and only happened when he was really upset. (i thought he used his wand against the Dementor in the alley. darn now i have to go open the book and make sure). it will most likely become a factor later, but i don't know for sure.  
thanks for pointing out my lapse of memory on the iso ward. i worked around the lapse in this chapter though thanks to your review.  
yeah, i liked the sorcery spikes to. i think they are one of my cooler ideas, and you better not give me too many ideas on going spike hunting. but why would someone want to go hunting in Riddle Manor and Godrics Hallow? i like to keep my sorcerers sane. but ill keep that particular idea in mind.  
(wow, that was a long reply, but you sent a nice long review so who cares.)

i lost some reviewers, but oh well. i still got some reviews that helped me get the chapter done.

please review this chapter. im really anxious about how i ended it and i need feedback. im officially making this up as i go along since i kinda just ignored the layout i had for the story. in the layout Harry and Draco didn't get bonded until about 5th chapter. oh well, im sure you appreciate that particular change. and im curious to see what people have to say about Pierce and Jayce. they were fun to write.

as a kinda pointless side note, the title of this chapter was the stories original name, but i decided to change it to what it is now because of the concentration on the differences between wizards and sorcerers.

well, see you next time. hopefully it won't take me long to update.


	4. Home

**Story Title:** The Two Worlds of Magic  
**Romantic Pairing:** Harry/Draco, slight Ron/Hermione, random Pierce/Jayce  
**Current Sorcery Pairing:** Harry/Draco, Pierce/Jayce, implied Alia/Aidrian  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Chapter Word Count:** 10,646  
**Beta: Majestrix  
Warning:** This story is and will continue to be SLASH! If you don't like it, don't read the story. If I get a flame, I'll just tear it apart for all my readers to see. I have fun flaming flames (what the heck did I just say)  
**Disclaimer:** J.K. Rowling is and always will be the genius behind Harry Potter. (bow down to her, she deserves it) But Alia, Aidrian, Pierce, Jayce, Seph, Elaine, Reilan, and Kale are all mine. (i kinda just gave chapter spoilers on those last few names, but since you dont know it's not really a spoiler)  
**Summary:** Wizardry isn't the only type of magic around. That's common knowledge. What isn't common knowledge is Sorcery. Sorcerers were supposedly wiped out hundreds of years ago, but now they're back and Voldemort won't let them join the side of Light, especially considering the rumors that say that Harry Potter has become a sorcerer, which shouldn't be possible.

Well, enjoy and see you after the chapter

* * *

**Chapter 4: Home**

"You know, bondings aren't usually dating scenes. We're not doing it to hook people up," Alia teased for what had to be the millionth time since the bonding had occurred that morning. She seemed unwilling to let the teasing slide, probably because every time she did, Harry gave the same deep blush. Pierce and Jayce were just as bad, if not worse being bonded and a couple themselves.

"How long are you going to tease me about this?" Harry asked after he got his embarrassment under control.

"Until it doesn't bug you," the answer was quick and showed how shameless Alia was about the subject matter. Harry wasn't very surprised by that particular tidbit since she had teased Pierce about Jayce withholding sex on many occasions. "Look at it this way, once we're done with you, your embarrassment factor will be reduced to ashes."

"If his sanity isn't reduced to ashes before that," Draco added. Draco certainly wasn't any help. He seemed more than willing to see how far he could aid in Harry's bashfulness. So far the only thing Draco had been good for was keeping the full blast of Harry's Territory from overloading his senses. He was aware of how sharp his senses were, especially toward what other people were feeling and the magic around them, but there was little change from what it was before. Pierce had told him that they had implanted techniques to help Draco out and Harry just assumed that whatever Draco was doing to keep what he felt limited was one of the skills implanted.

"I just received confirmation of our report for Harpo and Draco's love declaration. He's in the record books as the first sorcerer with a silver Territory."

"'Love declaration'?" Harry repeated. "Am I the only one who actually remembers more than Draco kissing me?"

"Obviously," the other three replied in unison.

"Traitor," Harry accused his stabilizer, who simply grinned in an unrepentant manner. "Please remind me why I did this again."

_Because you knew that it was best,_ Draco replied, humor evident even in his mental voice. _And you couldn't resist my charm, of course._

_I've known you for six years and I have yet to notice this so called charm,_ Harry retorted.

"Well, school starts in two weeks. Do you think we can have Harry holding in all his power by then?" Alia asked Pierce as Jayce entered the room and handed the sorceress a rolled parchment.

"This arrived for you this morning. It has the Council's emblem on it, but I think it was just forwarded through them. That's getting to be the way to send messages with all the interceptions we've been having lately," Pierce explained as he moved to sit next to his partner at the table. "I wanted to wait until after the bonding before I gave it to you. And I believe we will have Harry trained up be the end of this week. I can go get the supplies and books he needs for school. I guess everybody got their letters today."

"Did you tell Ron that we need to connect him to Harry once he's trained up a little?" Pierce asked.

"Yeah, I explained the situation to him. He seemed ecstatic about the idea. Oh, Harry, he asked me to tell you that he and Hermione expect a full explanation as to what happened this morning. And he means everything."

"Can't I ever be the one to tell my friends when I get into a relationship?" Harry asked in annoyance.

_Apparently not,_ Draco answered lightly.

_Oh, shut up Malfoy._

_You asked, I just answered first. They're going to say the same thing, which you were lucky enough to miss because you were talking to me._

_I knew you had to be good for something._

"What does your letter say, Alia?" Pierce asked, noticing the dark expression the girl now had on her face.

"Who's it from? I thought we were the only ones who even knew you were here. Even the Council doesn't even know exactly where you are," Jayce added.

"It's from my parents," Alia's voice was low and weak, and the feelings Harry was picking up off of her weren't any better. For the first time since Harry met her, she actually felt like a teenager, if not younger. She was actually uncertain and hesitant. Looking to Pierce and Jayce, he felt surprise and anxiousness from both, which didn't make him feel any better.

"What do they have to say?" Pierce asked cautiously. Alia's parents were known to be a touchy subject these days with their insistence on her withdrawing from active duty.

"They want me to return home for the sake of the world's ensured safety. They don't want me wandering around as if nothing's wrong."

"Aren't they blowing this a little out of proportion?"

"You seemed to be highly concerned about the situation just yesterday, Pierce," Harry reminded.

"That was yesterday, before she had to bond you and Draco. If she could get through that easier than I could, then I know there's nothing to worry about for the moment. We'll just have to make sure she pays a visit to the Mediator at least every other month."

"No more than that," Jayce added. "What are you going to do? This isn't the Council, so you can't just negotiate your way out of it."

"The orders I have from the Council may be the only argument I can put up at the moment. They are my parents and they know me better than anyone except Aidrian. That alone gives them enough sense to leave me to my own devices, but I guess the attack on Rokay gave them the excuse they needed to meddle in my affairs. By now they had to have been informed of Aidrian's disappearance and they don't want me going around without a proper stabilizer. The two people who should believe in me the most and they turn out to be the first to underestimate me."

"You haven't answered me. What are you going to do?" Jayce repeated. "Give me a straight answer or you'll never get it out."

"I have to go back and explain to them what I have to do," Alia answered calmly, but Harry could feel…fear. Alia was afraid of facing her parents, which confused him to no end.

"What's so wrong with your parents?" Draco asked.

"You're one to talk," Alia snapped back. Draco didn't respond, but Harry sensed that he wanted to. Draco really didn't appreciate the shot at his destroyed home life. Alia's eyes lowered to the table in front of her before she folded her arms over it and laid her head within them, hiding her face from those around her. "I'm sorry, Draco, I shouldn't have said that. My family is…unstable. When I was a kid, we were fine. We were probably the closest family you would ever come across. But then, I Awakened and everything just fell apart. I think my parents don't like that they lost me to the control of the Council so young and so they try to get whatever control they can manage. Overall, it causes more frustration than solutions."

"But it's still your family," Harry said. Family was a sacred thing that was supposed to be cherished, not avoided. To Harry, the only exceptions to good family was the Dursley's and even they seemed acceptable as long as it excluded Harry. It sounded like they still had best intentions for Alia, even if they probably handled it wrong.

"That's the only reason I tolerate it. I try to oblige them if I can, but most times the ideas they get are practically impossible to abide by. I love them, of course, but it's my family so they have to be annoying." The sorceress laughed slightly, which sounded sad to everybody present.

"Alia, get out of here," Pierce suddenly said in a tone of voice so serious Alia couldn't help but look up to him. "You can't deal with this and continue as you are supposed to. I believe the only reason they even considered calling you home is because they need to see you. They haven't seen you since you hit your last Spike about a year ago and with the attack on Rokay, they are more concerned than normal."

"Pierce, you can't be serious," Alia said.

"Oh, he can be," Jayce warned.

"You are under orders to return home until you are to go to Hogwarts."

"That's not fair, Pierce."

"Representative Baron, Magic Hunter," the sorcerer corrected harshly. Alia knew official orders when she heard them.

It wasn't often that Pierce used his authority over her to make her do something that would probably be good for her personally, but when he did, she could really get to hate him. The man simply cared too much about her and not enough about his job. He found it fortunate since Alia was exactly the opposite, her full attention going to her job and relying on her stabilizer to keep her down to earth. But now that Aidrian wasn't around, she had to realize that she would have to depend on herself more than ever, which meant she had to stay mentally and emotionally healthy.

Alia looked at Pierce with a calm anger burning in her gaze as she replied, "Yes sir, Representative Baron." With that she stood from the table and made her way up the stairs toward her room. Harry heard a door slam followed by a frustrated scream.

Pierce looked to Jayce with that appeared to be concern. "She's going to kill me, isn't she?"

"Well, you don't need to be a Prophet to know that she'll probably be pissed at you for a while. You shouldn't abuse your authority like that with her. It doesn't help that she's the only one you do it to."

"No other sorcerers under my command have black Territories, were trained by me, and actually need help keeping their lives in one piece."

_How much you want to bet Alia would kill them for talking like this about her?_ Draco asked.

_I would say it's very likely. But, if she did find out about it, I better not hear it was because you told on them. I refuse to be bonded to a tattle-tale._

_And I had to end up being bonded to a spoilsport._

"You should send your report to the Council now when you have a chance," Jayce said. "This is probably the only time you'll be able to. We aren't going to do any training today, with the bonding and all. You need to get used to having another mind linked to yours and allow your magic to find equilibrium between you and Draco. We'll start fresh tomorrow."

"Alright, then see you tomorrow," Harry replied and the two men stood and walked out of the house.

"It's unreal, isn't it?" Draco asked after a short silence.

"Enough has happened in the last month to rival all that happened all of last year." They returned to silence as Harry tried to work out how he should voice what he wanted to talk to Draco about.

_Just spit it out,_ Draco's mental voice said, humor lacing the tone. _You don't do well thinking it over._

"When did you…start to love me?" Harry asked a few minutes later. He felt Draco toss the question around in his mind, trying to find the answer and he kept as silent as he could as he waited.

"It just happened. I didn't even really notice until you asked about bonding with me. If I had gotten a chance, I probably would have brought it up, but Alia had us go through the bonding ritual right when we woke up and the opportunity just walked on past me."

"I know how that goes."

"When Pierce attached my mind to yours, there was a few seconds before they connected the threads where your memories were open. I saw what happened to Sirius Black." Harry's mind froze at the confession and he didn't know how to react.

"Did you see what happened after?" Harry asked nervously. He believed that Draco did deserve to know about the Prophecy, but he wanted to tell his stabilizer in his own time.

"No, your mind just kept going over Sirius' death. It was…harsh."

"I try not to think about it. I accept that it is what happened, but he was the first family I ever knew. It just didn't seem right for him to be taken away so quickly."

"You're doing well for what you've faced."

"If you weren't connected to my brain and magic I would disagree, but since that's the case, I don't have much of an argument."

Draco stood and moved to stand behind Harry, who turned to face his stabilizer. Draco's hand moved to rest on Harry's cheek. Harry's mind, which was in its usual "random thoughts" stage focused instantly on his partner at the contact and his eyes closed with the sudden relaxation. Draco lowered his body to kneel in front of Harry as the sorcerer leaned forward to relax into the other teen's body.

"I would say that qualifies as a Kodak moment," Hermione's voice came from the stairs which caused Harry to jump but Draco didn't move away, so neither did he.

"So take a picture," Harry replied. In a way, he was gracious that his friends were taking this so calmly. It did help that they had been given a chance to befriend the Slytherin before thrown the news of him and Harry becoming romantically involved.

"It's not like it was much of a shock when Jayce told us about it," Ron said as the two walked over to the table and sat next to each other opposite to Harry and Draco.

"Am I the only one who was completely unaware that I had something for Draco?"

"Apparently so," Ron answered flippantly. "But it's to be expected from you. You have a history of being emotionally slow on the uptake."

"I feel so loved."

"You should considering how much we put up with to make you feel that way," Hermione put in her two cents on the subject.

"Well, now that we have a few hours of free time, you are obligated to give a full explanation of what you did this morning." Harry couldn't help but laugh at Ron's tone and the word use he chose to deliver the order.

Draco stood and moved to stand behind Harry so the sorcerer could still relax against him since that seemed to hold a comfort zone for Harry. It helped that neither Ron nor Hermione seemed to mind the display.

"Why didn't you talk to us about it?" Hermione asked, sounding offended that he had excluded them from events.

"Alia suggested that I don't tell you about it until I knew for sure if we were going through with it. When I asked Draco about it last night, you were already snoring and I didn't want to burst into Hermione and Ginny's room with what I thought could wait until morning. But when I told Alia that we agreed, Pierce went to get the materials and we didn't get a chance to go tell you."

_So, there was no time whatsoever in the two hours after we bonded that we spent making out?_ Draco teased and Harry couldn't help but turn red.

_Shut up, Malfoy. I don't need your help with this,_ Harry snapped

_But I wasn't helping._

_Exactly my point._

"You shouldn't leave others out of the conversation," Hermione cut into Harry's scolding. "Alia told me about the mental communication that's attached to the thought threads they connected."

"Since when do you hang out with Alia?" Harry asked.

"Since you started hanging out with Draco Malfoy. Alia says that I've been very helpful with getting familiar with our ways of life and learning." The room was silent for a few seconds before she added, "She has to know about us in order to teach at Hogwarts. Don't you ever think about where she spends her free time?"

"I wasn't aware she had free time. I didn't see her for three days before Pierce and Jayce showed up, then she was in America for two weeks, and when she came back yesterday she bonded us."

"Yeah, it's been a busy summer all-around," Ron said with a grin.

"Jayce said he talked to you about being bonded to me as a back-up stabilizer."

"Yeah, he said that Pierce will do it before we go back to school. He said that he could do it when we sleep because it's so basic, which is what I think he's going to do."

"I wouldn't be surprised taking into consideration that this is Pierce Baron we're talking about. That guy is less predictable than Dumbledore and Trelawney put together."

"That's a disturbing combination," Ron's face twisted to show just how much of a picture his imagination had provided.

"Only a brain like yours would actually go as far as providing a mental image," Draco teased.

"At least I don't have a brain that understands Snape. Now that is a scary prospect," Ron retorted.

"When have I ever said that I understand Severus Snape?"

"You get along with him. That's proof enough. Well, what else should we expect from the Slytherin Prince?"

"A little more dignity on your part as a lowly vassal?" Draco suggested.

"Speaking of Slytherin, what are you going to do about them?" Hermione interrupted before the two could continue their friendly banter. Harry also realized that it was going into potentially dangerous territory with Ron. "Do they know about your decision to not join Voldemort?" Harry had wanted to ask his stabilizer the same question for a while now, but had shied away from the subject.

"I've written letters to my closest friends in Slytherin house explaining my decision to them. Overall, the first replies I received were negative and they told me that they would hex me into oblivion if they ever saw me again. But then I received more letters saying that they understood where I was coming from and that they wouldn't sell me out to Voldemort. I think they either heard what happened to Lucius or their parents are pressing about them joining the ranks."

"It's a hard decision, but it's still one they will have to make. They have to take responsibility for their own life sooner or later," Harry said.

"Hopefully they'll realize that sooner rather than later. We need all the help we can get and unfortunately the Slytherins are the best chance we may have besides you, Mate," Ron said.

"We'll know when we get back to school," Hermione finished for her boyfriend. "So, Harry, what's it like to be a full-fledged sorcerer with a boyfriend?" Even though he was a little put out by the return to the teasing from his friends, he was reminded of how good of friends they really were by lending him a minor distraction from a part of his life that was hard to ignore.

* * *

Alia looked at the door in front of her in slight horror. She really didn't want to have to face her parents right now. It probably wouldn't be so bad if they hadn't made a habit of locking her in an isolation room whenever she visited so she would be guaranteed to stay there for a while instead of running out in the middle of the night. She had only done that once and that was years ago.

"Well, might as well get it over and done with," she reasoned to herself.

…Five minutes later, she walked the rest of the distance to the door…

…Seven minutes after that, she raised her hand to the doorbell…

…Another three minutes and she was finally able to con herself into ringing the bell. "It's pretty bad when I have to blackmail myself," she mused just before the door opened and she was tightly embraced. Her Territory reacted instantly, trying to move closer to Alia and away from the contact until it realized who was touching it and moved to greet an old friend Territory. "Hi Dad, it's nice to see you again." At least her father answered the door. She got along better with him since he was usually the one to break her out of the iso rooms. It was really her mother that she had to watch out for.

"Li, I'm glad you came. Your mother is about two minutes from taking a chunk out of me," her father said as he held her at arms length.

"Has she taken anything yet?" Alia replied with a smile. Now that she was actually getting the change of seeing her father, she realized how much she had actually missed him.

She was also given the chance to take in her father, Seph Jerona's, appearance. He hadn't changed much in the last year, which she was thankful for. It took a second's glance between the two to know that Seph was the one Alia had taken her appearance after. His eyes were blue, though not as light of a shade as his daughter's, which were described as the color of ice. Seph's were more aquamarine and held a serene gentleness that Alia didn't possess because of her years of battle. Seph was only a few feet taller than Alia, at about 5'10", but he was built for battle and had the training for it as well.

Seph Jerona was one of the biggest names in the world of sorcery. He was in the history books years before he and his wife even considered having children and everything he did was practically legend. He had Awakened at a relatively early age, being eleven when his Territory made itself known to the world. It was actually his blue Territory that had earned him the title of Elemancer, or the Elemental Master. By the age of twelve, less than a year after Awakening, he had mastered the basic skills of a blue Territory and was well into the intermediate level. In no time he had learned everything known about manipulating the four elements. But what had granted him such attention in sorcery was the rediscovery of the fifth element: spirit. Through the fifth element he was able to channel just about any aspect of the other colors of Territories. By the time he was fourteen, he was a legend of power that hadn't existed in millenniums of sorcery.

His legacy made Alia's power not so much of a surprise and many had actually been looking for any sign of exceptional abilities. When her ability of rune manipulation had been discovered many had actually went as far as asking her if that was all she could do. The unfortunate individuals who had asked her the question so casually were eventually personally introduced to the Shintatsu sword. They tended to leave her alone after that.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get a chance to steal that letter before she sent it out. But I did get the opportunity to lock the doors to all the iso rooms and send the keys to Pierce."

"He should have mentioned he had the keys before I left. I wouldn't have been so worried if I knew she had no hope of locking me up." The sound of footsteps approaching reached their ears and Alia frowned knowing who it was she was going to have to face.

"Don't get too confident. Your mother is still a witch and they are resourceful when it comes to getting into things they're not supposed to."

"You're supposed to make me feel better, Dad."

"Alia Meilin Jerona!" her mother's voice called in her usual accusing greeting. "It's about time you returned home. We sent the letter over a week ago."

"The mail is getting slow. The Council has to take proper precautions with the interceptions going on," Alia defended. She had always believed that a little white lie never hurt much – there would be no point in mentioning that she had wasted two days by actually taking a plane back to America. The conventional method of transportation did have its use every once in a while.

"At least your home now. We were so worried about you when we received the final report on Rokay. How could you simply disappear like that without telling us? We were the ones who sent the distress call to Albus Dumbledore, which turned out to be a good call, but then you vanish without a trace. If you hadn't returned to the Council last week, we would have never even known you were still alive."

"I was transporting a prisoner, which you were fully aware of. You just wanted a reason to get me back here," Alia retorted, feeling her temper start to get the better of her.

Elaine Jerona was definitely the perfect match for Seph as well as a control test for Alia. Her sharp mind and witty mouth were enough to keep up with anybody on the planet, which made Alia sure to never introduce her to Draco. The combination of her mother and the Slytherin were enough to raise every single warning sense in Alia's arsenal, which totaled in the triple digits. The woman had been born and raised in Britain and had attended Hogwarts as a member of the Hufflepuff house. But after speaking to people who had known her, Alia learned that Elaine had been cunning in using her intelligence, was never one to back down, and upheld the honor her friends better than anybody else of the time. In other words, she exhibited traits from all houses and wasn't afraid to use any of the traits if the situation called for it.

She had met Seph completely by chance. She was visiting a friend in America and had met him through a friend of hers, who happened to be a stabilizer and the father of Pierce Baron. One thing led to another and they eventually got bonded.

Appearance wise, Elaine was beautiful. She was slender and had a fair feminine build. Her eyes were a soft amber color that had been passed to her son and her hair was a veil of gold locks, which she had kept to herself, Aidrian having somehow ended up with black hair. When it came to magic, she wasn't a weakling either. She was gifted in casting pretty much any spell in existence and she did her job as a stabilizer exceptionally well.

"Alia are you listening to me?" her mother's voice called Alia from her thoughts and she shrugged in response. The best way to deal with Elaine was to let the woman vent, which was best ignored since it usually had nothing to do with any relevant subject. Once it looked like she was winding down, tune back in and catch the end for the high points, which you can build your argument off of, then calmly defend yourself. It was a foolproof tactic that had never failed Alia to this day.

"Alia, we are just worried about you. You've never been this distant from us. It's like you've been avoiding us for the last year and a half. Ever since Dumbledore came and told you that Voldemort had returned to power you have been going on one assignment after another which always involved wizards."

This was not fair. Elaine had changed her venting order. She was saying the matters of importance first, which meant that Alia would actually have to listen so she didn't miss any points that might save her trouble. Alia figured her mother had discovered the continuity of conversations she had had with her daughter and realized that a change was in order.

"Well, aren't you going to give me some sort of explanation?" Elaine pressed.

Nope, she had already vented the irrelevant points. There were just so few that it hadn't taken long to get through them and Alia had zoned through them without realizing she had done so.

"I think you are blowing this whole situation out of proportion, like you always do," Alia replied calmly as she finally stepped through the door and into the house and walked toward the kitchen to see if there was anything that could be considered food.

"I think our concerns are justified. Aidrian is missing and your bond to him had been broken. We don't want to lose our other child, Alia," Elaine said as she followed her daughter. "You should consider that we aren't always out to destroy the system you have going. If you reach a level of instability that makes it impossible for you to retain control, then the world will have something to worry about besides Voldemort."

"Mom, I know my own limitations. I've only had to deal with them all my life."

"Then maybe you should pay attention to them every once in a while."

"If you know so much about my abilities, how long can I go without proper stability methods?" Elaine was silent, shocked by the question. "I didn't think you would have an answer. I'm so much better now than I was before. I can go months without any outer influences affecting me without restricting my actions. My Territory is better at purifying magic around me than a white Territory and it will protect me as long as it can."

"You have to understand that we don't want to have to face you in battle," Seph said, finally joining the conversation. "The possibility of you beating us is too high." The joke was slight, because in the end, it was the truth of the matter. "I'm not even sure the combined power of the other four black Territories could defeat you, and that isn't the most comforting thought we could have."

"It's not my fault the other black Territories have been able to avoid hitting Spikes. I think they somehow convince the Spikes to hunt me down and hit me head-on."

"It was the worst luck that the one person with a black Territory to lose their stabilizer had to be the one we couldn't risk losing control," Elaine said. "It's even more unfortunate that our daughter had to be the one in that situation." The woman remained silent for a few minutes, considering her choices. "I won't stop you from continuing active duty and helping Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. But I want you to know that we will always be here if you need us."

"I just might have to take you up on that offer. A situation may call for my back-up stabilizer and you'll have no choice but to come lend a hand."

"I don't understand why you don't just alter your connection to me so I can stabilize you," Seph commented.

"I'm not going to endanger you unless I have no other choice. And don't give me any argument about being noble or protecting you. Voldemort is hunting all sorcerers and if I have a prominent connection to you, your location can be tracked. I have a feeling that the Council isn't going to give you any assignments so you can not only be available if I need you, but because you need all the protection you can get. Right on, you got pizza!" she suddenly exclaimed as she finally got around to raiding the refrigerator. Elaine and Seph looked to each other before shaking their heads at their daughter's sudden change of concentration.

"Sometimes I don't understand how you could have been chosen to bear the power of a black Territory," Seph mused before the humor dried and he was faced with the reality of his daughter's life. "But most of the time, it's too obvious to forget." Alia paused in her task of finding which cupboard her mom had moved the plates to this time.

"You know, Dad? I wonder why I was chosen every single day of my life. I even go as far as wondering how I could get rid of it without dying. Then, something happens and I realize that there was a reason I was given this power, and I make it through another day because of that realization. Watching Harry learn our ways has really opened my eyes to the world and how closed off sorcerers have become over the centuries." She paused considering whether or not she should finish her explanation. When she realized there was nothing to lose, she plunged right in. Her parents deserved to know at least part of her Birth Prophecy. "I will change our world, one way or another."

* * *

"I thought this was supposed to get easier," Harry complained as he covered his eyes, but couldn't further block against his senses, which were currently going through an overload. Going to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies was quickly turning out to be a bad idea.

"There was no way we could know how sensitive you were in crowds until we threw you in one," Pierce defended his instructing methods. "You shouldn't have expected to be able to go on as you were before. Even sorcerers as talented as Alia and I can never totally block what's around us, no matter how much training we take in."

"I never thought things wouldn't change. I just expected to be able to last more than an hour in a crowd. When I get to school, I'll be around people all day long. I need to be able to go a day without having to lock myself up."

"And you will once you get a little practice under your belt."

"Are you sure he'll be able to handle being around so many wizards?" Draco asked. He moved to stand next to Harry and wrapped one arm around his partner and placed the other over the hand Harry had covering his eyes from the world. The contact helped a little, but Harry's head continued its attack on his demeanor.

"He'll be fine. It doesn't take long to get used to ignorance." Draco decided not to throw a sarcastic comment back in light of his partner's current state of pain. Harry had shown a side effect of headaches caused by his senses to be bitterness and Draco could do without some of the comments the sorcerer could dish out.

"I'm surprised that we haven't run into anybody yet," Ron commented. Him and Hermione were doing the best they could to keep anybody from getting too close to Harry and were actually doing a really good job of it so far.

"Shouldn't we feel fortunate for that?" Draco asked. "I'd hate to have to explain anything to a bunch of bloody Gryffindors."

"Watch it, Malfoy. You're in the company of 'bloody Gryffindors'."

"But I don't have to explain why I'm walking around with you to you."

"Don't worry so much. Just as you informed some of your friends about what's been going on, we've been keeping our own friends updated."

"I haven't told any of the Slytherins about Harry."

"Well, that's a worry off of our minds," Hermione said. "Even though they say they that they won't sell you out, we can't trust them with everything just yet."

"Did you tell whoever you talked to everything?"

"We told them that Harry is a sorcerer, our new DADA professor is a sorceress who is going to be keeping an eye on Harry, and that Harry is stuck with you so they might just have to get used to having you around."

"Shouldn't it be 'stuck to him'?" Harry joked, showing that he was getting used to the feeling of the crowd around him. Just by giving him a mental check over, Draco could tell that the headache was diminishing and Harry was going to be fine in no time at all. Draco was grateful for that much – Harry's headache had been starting to pass onto him, like they usually did.

"Say it however you want, at least our house won't be shocked into an attack when Draco walks into the common room with you. You know you taught some of them too well."

"It's their fault they caught on," Harry retorted and finally moved his hand away from his face. He didn't show any discomfort and he wasn't in much pain so Draco moved away slightly, but moved his hand to grasp Harry's so they were still in contact.

"Do we even want to know what you're talking about?" Pierce asked. "Where is Jayce? He said he wouldn't take long!" the sorcerer exclaimed and looked around with a deep frown on his face. "If he's started window-shopping, he's going to be in big trouble."

"No, he hasn't went off window-shopping," a deep voice said from behind Pierce, who spun around and made a sound Harry could only describe as squealing, and jumped into his partners arms, giving him a long kiss on the mouth.

"I missed you so much, Jayce," Pierce cried once he broke off the kiss. The only move Jayce had made was to move his arms to support his partner's weight. Usually he would just let the other man fall, but that was usually in a place full of people who knew what Pierce was like. In Jayce's opinion, they had received enough weird glances for one day – Pierce didn't even notice, let alone mind.

"The Weasleys are just finishing now. They'll be here in a few minutes. From here, you'll go directly to the train station and be off to Hogwarts by noon."

"I still don't get why we waited until the last day to do our school shopping," Hermione said.

"We would have done it sooner, but then Harry decided to test himself out and we wanted as little of a crowd as possible. We figured most people didn't wait until last minute to shop."

"And this way, Harry will only have to deal with one crowd instead of breaking it into two crowds where he could get overwhelmed easier," Pierce added. He had finally stopped nuzzling his partner and had dropped himself from Jayce's arms, but still kept his arms wrapped tightly around the taller man's arm.

"Doesn't that ever bother you?" Harry asked.

"What, his leech habits?" Harry nodded.

Pierce started mumbling something that sounded along the line of "My Jayce, not your Jayce, my Jayce," repeating the phrase over and over again.

"I've been bonded to him for something like ten years now and I knew him for about three years before that. It's amazing what you get used to. He's a very touchy-feely person and I actually don't mind. It's when he stops attacking me with affection that I start to worry."

"Thank you for not being that way, Harry," Draco said after a short pause.

"No problem," Harry replied.

A few minutes of random conversation and Molly and Arthur returned with armloads of books and they handed the burden off to the kids and they made their way to the train station.

It didn't take long to get to Platform 9¾ and Harry prayed silently that they would get there early enough to get an empty compartment. He knew he was at the end of his tolerance and he couldn't wait to be ensured silence for hours on end.

_Don't worry so much, Harry. We can always persuade some kids to give up their seats for us,_ Draco soothed. Or at least, that was the intent of the statement.

_Persuading does not include a wand and hexes,_ Harry clarified.

"You worry too much," Draco replied aloud, forgetting that everybody else had not been included in the conversation. Ron and Hermione glanced back at them, but didn't comment as they continued their journey to the train.

Not long after, they were on the platform with no problems and were making sure everything was packed away and ready for travel when Pierce called them over.

"Well, this is good-bye for now, Harpo," Pierce said as he unexpectedly threw his arm around Harry's neck and gave him a tight embrace. Draco was concerned for a few seconds for Harry's tolerance of another person touching him, but once he realized that Harry's Territory had happily joined with a friend, he didn't care. He knew how Pierce could get. "It was so awesome working with you and I hope to see you again soon. When Alia comes back to visit the Mediator, tag along and we'll catch up."

"We're sorry we couldn't get more time off, but we do actually have work to do with the Council," Pierce added as Pierce let Harry go and moved to give Ron and Hermione hugs. He decided not to risk touching Draco.

"Just what do you guys do in the Council?" Harry asked. He had wanted to ask, but kept forgetting whenever he got the chance.

"As Representatives we are responsible for acting as authority figures if a situation calls for one. We are also in charge of a faction of sorcerers on duty."

"How many sorcerers does a faction include?" Draco asked. The subject had instantly caught his interest, considering he was curious as to what job could actually get Pierce to act serious on a regular basis. Even training Harry had been like a game to the sorcerer.

"The faction we control is about three hundred partnered sorcerers. Ours is the largest faction and referred to as the Front Line Legion – something you might want to keep in mind."

"And Alia is a member of that faction?" Hermione asked, always wanting more information.

"Yes, but she should be receiving authority over her own faction soon. She'll probably be issued a faction when she turns eighteen in May."

"Pierce, what is your title? Alia told me that all sorcerers are given a second name. Hers is 'Magic Hunter', but you never told us yours." Once Hermione had asked the question, Harry found himself curious of the answer. "And please don't joke around. I really want to know."

"My sorcery name is 'Dark Terrimancer'. It was given to me because of my abilities to absorb the power of other Territories, use them as I wish. I'm the only sorcerer in existence who can actually manipulate Sorcery Spikes."

"If Voldemort has the connections he claims to possess, he would know to come after Pierce before going after Alia. Pierce is the only sorcerer could ever hope to defeat Alia in battle. The girl is just too powerful with that Shintatsu Rune Blade and her runes."

"She's too strong for her own good. And her name isn't 'Magic Hunter', that's her title, like mine is 'Council Representative'. Alia's second name is 'Dark Adeptor'."

"What's an 'adeptor'?" Harry asked.

"An ancient name for those who could use runes was 'adept'. She had just found her ability of rune manipulation around the time her name was issued, so that's what it was decided on. I suggested 'Dark Klutz' in light of how she discovered that ability, but it was refused in under a minute."

"It's the quickest unanimous decision that Council has ever made," Jayce added with a grin. "They said it was refused because the name is supposed to reflect the sorcerer's strength, and they figured if Alia was called a klutz, she probably wouldn't get too many assignments."

"I was trying to help, but nobody listens to me."

"Of course they wouldn't when you suggest stuff like that," Ron said.

"We should get on the train before all the compartments fill up," Hermione suggested. The rest of the group nodded and gave one last farewell to the sorcerer and stabilizer before boarding the train.

It was easy enough to find an empty compartment and in no time at all they were on their way back to Hogwarts. Harry was returning to the place he thought of as a home, where he fit in – as long as you ignored his fame.

* * *

"This just plain sucks," Alia grumbled as she stood in front of the Assignment Office of the Council. Just when she had managed to escape her mother's grasp, she was called into the Sorcery Council on "urgent business that requires your immediate attention". Alia was tempted to never open another letter as long as she lived if this kept up for much longer. "I take orders from the Dark Terrimancer, nobody else." That usually got her out of things like this…

"Usually we wouldn't interfere with Pierce Baron's orders, but you are one of the few people who is actually up and moving after the attack on Rokay." …But it obviously wasn't going to work today. "We need to go back and see if we can get a clear evaluation of what happened," one of the men Alia vaguely recognized as being important. Her mind was drawing a blank on just who most of these guys were because of her lack of dealing with them.

"It took you long enough to get around to asking me about it. In case you forgot, I was fighting during most of the attack."

"We realize that and it is why we need you there with the recovery team we arranged."

"If there was anybody left alive, they would probably be dead by now."

"The recovery team is not designed to look for survivors. We've already recovered those who survived the day after the attack. We aren't that heartless." Alia was inclined to argue, but held her tongue. "We need an event record to document. You'll escort some of our strongest Prophets into Rokay and they will take readings. If you run into any trouble, take care of it in your own way."

"Gee, thanks for the attention," Alia retorted flatly. "Nice to know my abilities can be put to such use.

"With the documentation of the attack, we can rebuild the school immediately and get some of our sorcerers back under proper protection."

"If they were under proper protection, the attack wouldn't have been a big deal."

"The new facility will have every level of defense we have available to us. It will be safe from Voldemort, no matter what it takes." The man paused for an observed Alia's reaction, which hadn't changed. She still didn't want to do it and if her heart wasn't in the task, her performance wouldn't be as useful as they required. He found it frustrating how much they let her get away with, but who was he to argue with the strongest sorceress they had?

"Look at it this way, Magic Hunter," a woman Alia remembered as Camia, a Mediator who had treated her a few times, took over the convincing. "With the Prophets taking readings, they are likely to find something about what happened to Aidrian."

Alia had considered that possibility and was considering saying yes because of that, but something was holding her back. She knew that Rokay had to be swarming with Sorcery Spikes because of the battle and because of the concealment magic that had been raised after the attack, the Spikes couldn't move around. She would just be asking to walk into a world of trouble.

"You have to know enough to realize that Rokay is probably full of Sorcery Spikes by now. If I hit a Spike in my current…" she hated referring to it like this, "…condition, then you will have a lot more to deal with than Voldemort."

"We realize that and will take proper precautions. Don't worry so much, Miss Jerona. You will be fine."

"You know, it's when people assume that that people start to get hurt. And honestly, I don't want to be the one responsible for more problems then we already have."

"I understand how you feel, but you have to understand that we can't just let you give up active duty. We need you to be working."

"I thought that was what I was going to Hogwarts for."

"You'll be back in time to start lessons. We can't risk our reconnection with the wizards. It's taken us too long to get back on their good side to risk their trust. You have your orders, Dark Adeptor. You might want to get ready for the trip to Rokay."

Alia gave a short bow and left the room quickly. "How did Aidrian deal with these people on a daily basis?"

"It's amazing what you get used to in time," a soft voice spoke behind her and she turned to face Camia Sanders.

"Let me guess, you're one of the Prophets going," Alia said shortly.

"Yes I am. There will be five Prophets: myself, Miaka Tami, Brazen Miguel, Kale Dartz, and Reilan Xander."

"A Prophet of every Territory."

"So you know Prophets?"

"I'm not that ignorant of the Council. Even I know enough to pay attention to names. I've worked with Kale before and of course I would know Reilan. All of us black Territories know each other. He's the best Prophet we have right now."

"It's a comfort to know that you won't be totally useless because you don't know us."

This lady was really ticking Alia off, like she always had. Camia and Miaka Tami had never been on good terms with Alia because of Aidrian. He had been an infatuation for the other two sorceresses' and Alia wouldn't let them get close to her brother. She usually wouldn't mind, but she just got bad vibes from those two.

"Just pray I don't run into a reason to draw my Shintatsu. I might just mistake you as a threat in the midst of battle." With the threat out in the open, Alia turned and made her way to the waiting vehicle that would drive her to Rokay.

The journey wasn't a long one and Alia spent most of it just dozing. She hadn't gotten much sleep lately and it was starting to affect her concentration. She couldn't wait until she was at Hogwarts where there were sleeping drafts always available for use.

* * *

"We've arrived, Magic Hunter," the driver announced after about an hour on the road. "We'll wait here."

"Good, that's less people to baby-sit," Alia snapped. She hated guard duty and couldn't wait for it to be over and done with.

"Hey there, Jerona," a voice caught Alia's attention. She looked to see a man of about 30 years walking toward her. The man was about six feet tall and had bright blue eyes and jet-black hair that framed his face in spikes. This was Kale Dartz, a sorcerer who bore the power of a strong red Territory and his body showed the battles he had seen in the form of scars all over his torso and arms. Kale was one of the most experienced sorcerers in existence when it came to one-on-one combat and had been one of Alia's trainers after she had forged the Shintatsu. Behind Kale was his stabilizer, Maria, who was about Alia's height and had eyes like her partner but her hair was a light shade of brown.

"We aren't taking the stabilizers in, are we?" Alia asked nervously. Even though she didn't particularly mind the stabilizers, it was more people to look after.

"No, there's no point to bringing the stabilizers in with us and to begin with, only Reilan, you, and I are going in. If we need another Prophet to help sort out the readings, we'll call in Brazen, Miaka and Camia."

"Actually, we just don't want to be around those two if we can avoid it," another man walked up behind Kale and smiled to Alia. The sorceress allowed her Territory to reach out slightly to greet a friend that it hadn't seen in a few years: the Pentagon Master, Reilan Xander.

Reilan was the oldest of the five bearers of the black Territory and as close as intelligence could figure, his Territory had been passed through more sorcerers than the other four black Territories, making it more adaptive and had been the most powerful until Alia had hit the third Sorcery Spike. Reilan was only 27, two years older than Pierce, but he had Awakened when he was 13, giving him a few more years of training than the other black Territories.

Appearance wise, Reilan was small and didn't look like he would be much trouble for anybody. He was only a few inches taller than Alia and his brown eyes were more gentle than fierce, and his black, Indian-like hair that flowed halfway down his back made him look like a preppy boy than a warrior, but Reilan had proven hundreds of times that he deserved the power passed onto him.

"Shall we get this over with, Dark Adeptor," Reilan suggested and Alia nodded quickly. She wanted to get over to Hogwarts by tonight so she could see how Harry was doing.

Alia looked to the mansion-like building that rose from the ground that used to be her home and place of safety. It looked desolate and foreboding now without life within its walls. Alia inhaled deeply and walked toward the entrance of Rokay. She led the group through the building and they proceeded quickly to the main hall that had been the center of a battle a little over a month ago.

Alia walked into the large room and gasped at the damage that had been done to it. The floor was practically nonexistent and the walls were missing chunks that reached to the roof in places. Even though there were no bodies in the room anymore, Alia could sense that there had been death in this place.

"Alia, wait until we scan the room for Spikes before you go in," Reilan ordered and Alia backed away from the door to allow the man to step into the room. Once he was in the room, the veil of black magic that surrounded him appeared and spread to reveal all the magic within the room. This was the power that had been obtained by the Pentagon Master: the power to reveal the environmental magic to become visible to those who everybody else. He saw it all the time.

A movement close to the center of the room caught Alia's attention and she shifted her gaze to the source. What looked like a tornado of light to those who didn't know better was in fact what some sorcerers feared running into more than anything. It was a Sorcery Spike, and a strong one at that.

"Sorcery Spike," Alia announced to her companions. They all looked to the center of the room. "It doesn't look mobile, but it looks like it draws in the magic around it. Reilan will have to handle this one." Alia looked to the mentioned sorcerer, who simply shrugged and walked to where the tornado of power resided. "Well, what do you think?"

"We don't have to worry about it. It's not negatively charged. This was just a concentration of pure power. Do you remember anything big that happened here?"

Alia moved toward the man and observed the area closely. She leaned down, making sure to stay far enough away from the Spike so it wouldn't catch her. On the floor was a symbol that was barely visible, but instantly recognized by her: it was her shield rune. She stood and stepped closer to the Spike, allowing it to graze her Territory, which responded instantly.

_You are strong enough to overpower the evil in this place…Meld the power of your Territory to the magic of your Shield Rune…Expand your territory and make us a path out of here…_

Alia stepped back and refused to allow tears to fall in response to a replay of her brother's calming demeanor surrounding her. "That was where I fused my Territory to my Shield Rune. It took a lot of magic to fuse their power together and extend it. You might be able to get a reading of the battle from there though." Alia's eyes fell to the rune and gave a small smile. "That's the first time in years that I have ever left a rune after I've used it."

"We all make mistakes, adept," Kale soothed as Reilan stepped forward and moved directly into the middle of the Sorcery Spike. This was another power of the black Territory – blocking the power of a Spike without dispelling it. If Reilan didn't want a power boost, the Spike wouldn't affect him, but that didn't mean he couldn't still pick up the emotions and events that kept that Spike alive.

Reilan closed his eyes and concentrated on the source of the Spike's power and remained still for a few minutes as he relived the events through the combination of his Territory's power and the Spike. As Alia waited, Kale moved around the room, searching for something that he could read. Kale's Prophet power read spells that were used, especially ones cast by a wand, meaning he could trace everything about a spell cast by a wizard as well as the person who cast it. Alia was trying not to remember what had happened in this room not so long ago. It was a disappointment in her life, if not to Aidrian, than to herself as a sorceress of great power.

"You did what you could, Alia," Reilan's voice soothed as his eyes opened. Alia wasn't shocked that he had known her thoughts. Reilan was good at telepathy when his Territory was open. He didn't pick up much of emotions like Alia, as well as most of the sorcerers in existence, but he heard words of the mind as clearly as words of the mouth.

"I'm supposed to be some all-powerful sorceress, but I couldn't save my own brother," Alia said. She could speak to him through their minds, but she didn't feel comfortable speaking like that with anybody else besides her stabilizer and Reilan knew that.

"It's impossible to be all-powerful. We're still human and because of that, we will always be weak. You'd do good to remember that."

"I think we have all that we can get out of all this room. I'm not picking up anything from this room. I guess there was just too much different magic going on since all I'm picking up is death," Kale explained and moved to the door on the opposite side of the room than where we entered and push against it hard. The push didn't do anything and the door remained sealed.

"I thought all the doors were unsealed in the rescue," Reilan said and moved to the door next to the other sorcerer. He touched the door and gave it a quick scan with his Territory. "There's a spell locking the door. It's not sorcery. Can you take care of it, Alia?"

"Of course," Alia answered with a smug grin. She pulled a piece of chalk from her pocket and drew a Shifting Rune. The rune had had the power to alter its effect to whatever Alia instructed. It was a rune she commonly used when she didn't know exactly what she was dealing with. Knowing she would get a better understanding of the spell through her Territory, she touched her hand to the door over her rune and allowed her Territory to spread across the door and located the actual lock to the spell. "Dispel," she ordered and the rune flared and spread its power through the door and began to unweave the fabrics of magic that kept the door sealed. It didn't take long before the magic was gone. "There we go, it's open," she informed her companions as she used her sleeve to wipe away the rune.

"Our battle overview says that this hall was the last area of combat and where Dumbledore joined the battle," Reilan explained.

"Then this is where I took Lucius Malfoy's magic. Keep an eye on any Spikes in here. His magic might not have been broken down by Shintatsu before I passed out."

"What do you mean?" Kale asked as Reilan stepped into the hall and began spreading his Territory again.

"My Shintatsu can draw a person's magic from their body and seal it within the rune of the blade, but the sword can't keep the magic within it when I return it to my Territory. I have to break down the magic myself, but I didn't get the chance to and I don't remember how Shintatsu got back into my Territory before I lost consciousness."

"So what if it did create a Spike?"

"Malfoy had a piece of Voldemort within him that could control him. Voldemort was in control when I took his magic, so if the magic was simply released, it would be a Spike of evil. I don't know if even Reilan could handle Voldemort's insanity," Alia finished in a whisper. Reilan's entire attention was on the task of revealing the magic around them so he wouldn't hear her or her thoughts.

"You've handled it before, and that was a few years and two Spikes ago."

"That was an old Spike that had diminished slightly over time. This one will be fresh." Alia sighed as she noticed Reilan's task coming to completion. "Maybe I'm overestimating that psycho and underestimating Reilan. I never have really seen his full power."

"Consider yourself lucky for that. He's…not our friend when he accesses his full power."

"There's quite a few Spikes in here and they are all mobile. Watch yourselves and don't get caught," Reilan warned and the two followed him into the hall to see the hall filled with power, both evil and pure. As a caution, Alia spread her Territory a few feet around her and activated the power of her magic that purified whatever passed through her Territory's veil to come in contact with her.

It didn't take long for her to be overwhelmed by what happened within that corridor. It was like she was back in that hall with Aidrian fighting right beside her. There was too much fear, anger, and pain in this place for her not to be drawn in.

Alia saw the Death Eaters approaching her and Aidrian in her mind.

"This is getting complicated," Alia said quietly. Aidrian turned to face her and nodded slowly.

The Death Eaters had managed to follow them and were approaching the two. As they approached, Alia raised her sword and prepared to go as far as taking life. Too much had happened to worry about saving face with the wizards. The assault began and the siblings were once again thrown into battle. Alia knew that without help, they wouldn't survive this one.

"Alia, come on, answer me," Kale's voice reached Alia's mind and she tried to process what the words meant, but she just couldn't understand. She was lost in magic, the one thing that stabilizers were supposed to guard their partners from.

_I don't want to come out. I want to know what happened. I don't remember,_ she sent the message to whoever was around her without realizing what she was doing and closed her eyes. She had to know what happened to Aidrian, even if she went too deep. She couldn't live without knowing.

_Show me the Mind Anchor Rune,_ a voice called to her and the image of the named rune flashed in her mind. _My name is Reilan and I'll be what you need to come back to. Don't you dare leave us Alia Meilin Jerona. Your brother wouldn't want you to go where you couldn't help him._ Alia registered the words and they made vague sense, but she knew that once she saw what she needed, those words would save her mind.

* * *

Please give me prior warning if I am in danger of death by crazed readers just in case I'll need to have a cause of death ready for the police. I'm really sorry for ending the chapter, but it just felt so right to end it there. i was on such a roll that i even "borrowed" my onii-san's (older sister) laptop in order to finish it because my mom was on the computer. when i wrote that sentence i was like, "This is probably going to get me killed, but its too perfect to pass up."

now onto Review Replies and do i have a good list:

**Moreena Evansong**: i missed you on chapter 2 but thanks for reviewing this chapter. i know how schoolwork can catch up. stupid school and class.  
i love writing interactions between sorcerers. and pierce and jayce are really a pride of a creation. it just felt right to create a character that can be a total moron when he wants to be, but still take care of business. pierce's character is so unpredicatable, even to me. i'll be writing and suddenly a crazy action from pierce will type itself onto the screen and i actually read what is on there and say i didn't put that there but it fits.  
on the subject of Harry and Draco, of course they are going to fight. they wouldn't be a couple if they didn't. but their fights are going to be about really serious stuff. you know, like "i don't care if your a hero, you are not going to take out Voldemort by yourself". ill always slip something in between Ron and Draco because they will be a humor factor. im also looking forward to interactions between all the professors since i have no clue how they are going to turn out.  
glad you liked the kiss. once again it was a case of "i dont know how im going to do this" but when i was writing, the scene just played itself out.  
harry teasing dedicated to you.  
thanks for the review!

**Christi486**: thanks so much for the review and thank you to sevypook, wherever you are, for the recommendation. i love you both. thank you for all the compliments, they really help me to write, and its even better to hear its one of the best from someone who has read a lot. (my personal fave and always recommended is Gold Tinted Spectacles by Beren. it was my inspiration for this story since its what got me into Harry/Draco.)  
and since i don't plan on disappointing my readers, i certainly wont stop writing.

**neonorangefroggy AKA megan**: i didn't forget you. i put your email in a folder i have just for reviews from this story just to make sure i didn't. im curious to see what kinda stories you come up with, so a post from you is something to look forward to.  
i love SLASH stories. i hardly ever read anything else. probably because they show more imagination of the author than if they go along with what the original story has.  
you say people call you weird, well who wants to be normal these days. weird is fun  
enjoy this chapter and talk to you soon

**bud:** thank you for the review and compliments. just to let you know, there will be more action now that most explanations are out of the way. the next chapter is going to actually begin with the end of the battle at Rokay and then things will just keep going.  
enjoy the chapter and thank you again.

**BeautifulLady**: thank you thank you thank you so much for reviewing. any review that i get seems to give mea burst of inspiration, and since you sent yours a while after i updated, i was running low and was having problems writing something i liked. getting your review just cleared my brain and I was finishing the chapter in no time.  
enjoy!

**KEVIN:** sorry, i wasexcited to see your review. i was kinda worried that i would update before you got a chance to review. (i love your reviews that much)  
like you said, Draco and Harry's history is a problem and i try to work it in asa hesitation factor even though they are bonded. it will probably be a while until they have no hesitation in their actions. in the first two chapters it was more of a "we're stuck here we might as well get along", but after they talked before pierce came in, it actually became more genuine. (i actually kinda regret not including ron and hermione's first conversation with draco after the "porch convo", but it didn't fit no matter how much i tried.  
ive gotten as much compliments on Pierce and Jayce's personalities as i did about Lucius losing his magic. i was actually kinda concerned that people would kinda berate them for acting like that and it not belonging in the story, but it worked out great because since i included them so deeply i have worked out a major factor for later in the story that ive madea lot of references to in this chapter. let me know if you find it. if you do, i promise major spoilers. (is it just me or does it seem like i'm bribing my readers now)  
always nice to know that included info on forgotten points, like the iso of harry insert nervous laugh here, worked out good. and you did bring up a really good point with Godrics Hollow and Riddle Manor, and i think i might actually use them for something.now insert evil laughter  
i just might take you up on your offer of assistance, and will email you if something comes up or i just feel like having a reader who knows more of the story. (one of my author friends gave me some spoilers on a story she's writing because i guessed a hint correctly. its fun because now she gives me spoilers all the time and teases other readers about me knowing even though she doesn't tell them im the one who knows, at my request. i really dont want to get assaulted with emails demanding i tell them whats going to happen.)  
if you mean my original stories, be my guest to check them out. even if you mean my other fanfic, the reviews ive got on that has been good.  
well, look forward to hearing from you again.

whew! those are getting long. its nice to know that more people are getting into it, even if most dont review. i checked my stats a few days ago and i had like 12 people on their author alert list and only one or two i recognized as reviewers, so thank you everybody who reviewed, and thanks for enjoying to all those who didn't. a special thank you to sevypook for recommending me to others. that means a lot to me.

another HUGE HUGE thank you to** Majestrix**. she is now my beta, which i am really excited about. ive never had a beta before and she did a great job on this chapter, so im going to keep her as my beta. big hugs to you **Majestrix** and talk to you soon!

Spoiler if you want one: i think i already mentioned this (my memory sucks this early. looks down to clock 10:44 okay so its not early, but my memory still sucks) the next chapter will start with the end of the battle at Rokay. we will finally get to see exactly what happened, which is important. it will be told like its whats happening now instead of like an image like i had in this chapter. i just didn't want to catch people too much off guard.

im sorry to say that pierce probably won't be in the story for a few chapters, and i know i'll miss him and jayce dearly. but fear not, like Aidrian, they will be back eventually. maybe sooner than even i think. i tend to have a problem writing stuff without thinking and changing the story around completely. this is why i usually don't write out a chapter plan: i never stick to it.

anyway, thats all for now. see you all next chapter and enjoy this one. and please don't kill me.

**Kimra Dattei**


	5. Past, Present, and Future

**Story Title:** The Two Worlds of Magic  
**Romantic Pairing:** Harry/Draco, Pierce/Jayce, Ron/Hermione  
**Current Sorcery Pairing:** Harry/Draco, Pierce/Jayce, Alia/Aidrian, Seph/Elaine  
**Rating:**PG-13  
**Chapter Word Count:** 12,318 WOO-HOO new record high!  
**Beta: Majestrix  
Warning:** This story contains SLASH and if you haven't figured that out yet, you are very dense and must not have been reading. if you have a problem with that, it's your problem and if you flame me, please do because i just find the lack of brains in them hilarious and i could always use a good laugh.  
**Disclaimer:** J.K. Rowling is and will always hold rights to Harry Potter and you should all bow down to her genius because that's what she is. you don't have to, but it's just a suggestion.  
**Summary:** Wizardry isn't the only type of magic around. That's common knowledge. What isn't common knowledge is Sorcery. Sorcerers were supposedly wiped out hundreds of years ago, but now they're back and Voldemort won't let them join the side of Light, especially considering the rumors that say that Harry Potter has become a sorcerer, which shouldn't be possible.

i'm really sorry that it took so long to get this out, but my brain wasn't connected to my writing and it took me forever to get it out. that and my email decided to not work when i sent it to my beta and i didn't think to check if it went through for a week and i found out it didn't send. but i got it through and so, here you go

**Chapter 5: Past, Present, and Future**

Calling on the powers of the Shintatsu for a long period of time and the fatigue that had already long been grating on Alia's system was becoming a problem. She couldn't understand how Voldemort could have this many followers. Well, probably some of these were ones who had simply been knocked out in the other room. Either way, the battle was becoming difficult and Alia knew she wouldn't last much longer. Aidrian wasn't doing much better and was actually being forced farther away from the sorceress.

(I can't keep this up for very long,) Aidrian warned. Alia moved back away from her current opponent and used the chalk grasped in her left hand to draw the Shield Rune on the wall and used her Territory to activate it, bringing the barrier around her quickly.

(I'll give a nice distraction and you try to get away from the battle. We need help in this fight or we're going to die,) Alia ordered as she tried to regain all the strength she could while maintaining her rune's effect. The spells from the wizards trying to break through helped slightly as she used Territory to feed off whatever power it came in contact with.

(I'm not leaving you in your condition, Alia. You could get killed and then what good would you be?)

(If I got killed, there would be at least one black Territory that Voldemort wouldn't know about.) Alia sensed through their connection that Aidrian understood her point, but still wouldn't support her decision. She hadn't really expected him to in the first place.

Alia kneeled down and drew the Explosion Rune on the ground as quickly as she could. Drawing the rune alone took a while because of lack of use, but once it was ready, she reached into one of her pouches and removed a small pinch of the powder from within. (Move away, Aidrian. I'm using an Explosion.)

(Just make sure you drop your shield before activating it,) he replied. If she didn't drop her shield, the explosion would be contained within. Aidrian may have discovered the rune, but she had researched it deeper than he had.

It took a few seconds to for her mind to realize the fact that her brother was teasing her. (Very funny, now get moving.)

Alia couldn't avoid it any longer: she had to open her Territory fully to activate the Explosion Rune. The rune's effect would spread with her Territory while any person in contact with the rune itself would be protected. Opening her Territory was a risk, but she couldn't let the Death Eaters win.

(I'm out of range.) Aidrian's mental voice was weak, indicating that he was far away.

Alia reacted instantly by ordering her Territory to open and pushing power into the rune to activate it. A flash of light exploded from the rune and followed to catch up with Alia's Territory, the force of its power knocking down whoever it touched, sending them to the ground with burns on any skin exposed to the magic.

Alia cried out and had to support her body against the wall as the senses her Territory were picking up finally reached her and she was assaulted with anger, greed, and a desire to kill. She could easily ignore it once she got used to it, but it would take a few minutes for her mind to adapt. Until then, she felt like her mind was being torn apart from the inside and concentrating on her Territory and rune were making it worse.

She felt a familiar touch and opened her mind to her brother's mental touch. Once his mind joined with hers, nothing else mattered. She stopped feeding power to her rune and its power faded away, leaving only the bodies of its victims. Once the power was gone, Aidrian helped her call her Territory back around her.

(You should have used a different rune, moron,) Aidrian chided.

(You are the one who taught me that particular rune.)

(Yeah, the only one you haven't personalized,) Aidrian mused. (It's also the only one you had never used before now. Was it as bad as the books indicated?)

(It burns any skin it comes in contact with besides that of the one touching the rune. But despite that, I don't think it killed any of these Death Eaters. Are you okay to be talking like this? Connecting over this distance makes you unaware of your surroundings.)

(I couldn't avoid it. You were almost drawn in and I had to anchor you down.)

(Pull out before you get hurt. I'm catching up right now.) That was a task easier said than done. Alia's Territory was picking up people approaching who didn't feel like Death Eaters and it was hard to find where Aidrian had gone. Rokay may be a school, but it was also designed as a fortress and it was easy to lose an enemy. Unfortunately, it could also lose an ally if someone didn't know who was looking for them.

Alia considered the consequences of opening her Territory to its full capabilities, but pushed the idea away quickly. She couldn't risk activating her full power with all the evil around her refusing to dissipate. She eventually stood and navigated her way around unconscious bodies until she finally reached floor devoid of people. She turned back and felt the urge to throw up at the sight of so many bodies littering the hall. She had done so much damage that would take a long time to heal. All these people would bear scars since the wounds could only be healed to a certain extent.

"Damn it, I never used that rune for a reason," she muttered as she turned back in the direction she was supposed to be heading and closed her eyes. She could feel the general direction that her stabilizer was in, but she would have to get closer to get an exact location.

She was about to take off when she realized that she hadn't replaced the Shintatsu within its sheath yet. She raised the blade grasped in her right hand and looked at it for a few seconds, deciding what she should do with it. The rune on the blade glowed brightly, indicating just how much magic was being sealed within it. She couldn't sheath the sword with this much power contained and it was too risky to break the magic down through meditation. The only remaining option was to vent the magic and let it remain in the environment.

Alia held her left hand over the rune placed on the hilt and concentrated on its power. The hilt flickered in response and the aura of the magic sealed in the blade surrounded the sword. It was dark and surrounded the blade by about a foot, meaning if it was released, it would create a Spike powered by hatred.

It was a tough decision considering the chance of another sorcerer taking this hall to find them being very high. If any sorcerer hit the Spike, they wouldn't have a chance to defend their sanity – they would lose control. Weighing her options, Alia realized quickly enough she would have to take the chance. She couldn't handle using the Shintatsu anymore.

She lowered her hand to touch the rune on the blade and it pulsed. _Release,_ she ordered and the rune gave a small explosion of light and the magic that was sealed within was simply set free. Moving her left hand to grasp the hilt, she lined the tip of the blade with the center of her focal point and pushed it in to the sheath of her Territory, breaking it down to the magic that powered it.

When the task was completed, she took off running in the direction she knew her brother to be in. His signal was stronger now that her concentration wasn't as divided as it was before. She could already feel some of her endurance returning as she was surrounded by just the halls and magic of Rokay with no evil wizards within her immediate Territory to confuse her senses.

(Aidrian are you within wards?) she called out as she quickly searched for his exact location.

(Not any that should confuse you.)

(Then why can't I locate your exact location? I know I'm close to you if we can communicate this easily, so why can't I find out exactly where you are?)

(Calm down, Alia. You're getting hysterical and that's not going to help anybody. I'm in a classroom that looks designed for meditation.)

(I have every right to get hysterical if the situation calls for such a response.) Alia defended before catching up completely with what sense her brother was implying. (The meditation rooms are cut off from the rest of the school so Territories don't accidentally overlap without control. No wonder I can't find you. Step out of the room so I can find you.)

(Don't you even know where the meditation rooms are in your own school?)

(They are spread out all over the school. The wards that are placed around them have to be a certain distance from each other or their power will overlap. Get out of the wards or I can't track you.)

Aidrian didn't reply, but a few seconds later, her Territory sensed its partner and Alia locked onto his location. He wasn't far away and she ran in the direction of his signal.

(Stay away!) Aidrian suddenly called to her and she froze. She reached out with her Territory again and found another signal close to Aidrian. It was a confusing signal, being a strange combination of anger, pain, fear, and confusion. What confused Alia more was the feel of sorcery about the signal. If this was a sorcerer, why did they feel evil and why was Aidrian telling her to stay away? She felt Aidrian open his mind to her and she opened her own so she could connect her senses to his, making her able to hear through his ears.

"What are you doing here?" Aidrian's voice sounded in Alia's ears.

"Solving a problem the Dark Lord has been having lately," a muddled voice answered.

(Is our connection bad?) Alia asked. The voice had sounded like two people speaking at the same time while an underlying distortion disrupted both. She had never heard anything like it and there was no way to clarify if she had heard it before.

"Which problem would be so bad to attack Rokay for? This isn't just about Alia, is it?" Aidrian replied

"I read an interesting passage not so long ago. It was in the Birth Prophecy records and it just caught my master's attention."

(Only Birth Prophets are automatically given access and everybody else has to be given permission according to complex standards,) Alia recalled. She hadn't even seen the covers of the books that contained the records and she had been granted access to them almost three years ago. Access was hard to get and the only reason she had been given permission was because she had proven herself hundreds of times over to not take advantage of the privilege.

(What is access determined by?) Aidrian asked. She had been ordered to only tell her stabilizer on a need-to-know basis.

(The Prophets implant a piece of magic into your Territory that gives you immunity to the defenses around the records. It's a signal that is impossible to duplicate and only the Birth Prophets know the signal. Not even I could identify where the magic is in my own Territory.)

(This person is definitely a sorcerer, but that's all I can tell you.)

"We'll go straight to the heart of the matter," the person said and through Alia's close connection she could feel a jolt of surprise pass through her brother. Something was wrong and she wasn't going to let it slide. She took off again in Aidrian's direction once again, lowering the level of connection they held.

She hadn't moved very far when a sickening feeling shot through her mind and body. A scream escaped her as she felt like she was being ripped in half. She couldn't stand anymore as a wave of pain passed through her whole body. Her Territory spread around her and she looked at her focal point. The circle of the four colors and the black center remained unaffected, but the white ring that surrounded the circle was being pulled apart. The ring represented the connection of her stabilizer. Something bad was happening to Aidrian and she couldn't let that happen.

She put every ounce of stubbornness into the effort of holding the true shape of her focal point and the unease of her body dimmed slightly.

(I'm being broken from you, Alia,) Aidrian's mental voice was strained and weak. He was fighting it as well, but his mind wasn't as trained as Alia's and it was hard for him to put up a proper defense.

Alia summoned up more strength from who knows where and tightened her hold on her partner's connection to her. A few seconds later, a touch to her shoulder broke her concentration slightly and her hold slipped, causing her to scream as another wave of pain passed through her. The hand moved away, but the touch had given her enough time to sense that it was someone she had known for a few years and she wasn't in danger.

She avoided the confusion as to why Albus Dumbledore was at Rokay and concentrated on what the wizard could do to help her. There wasn't much he could do with her, but if Dumbledore could disrupt the concentration of whoever was trying to break them apart, then it would give Aidrian enough time to withdraw back into the confinement of the wards and put up enough locking and protection spells that would keep even Alia's Shifting Rune busy for hours.

Knowing it was the only way, despite how much strain it would put on Alia's hold to her partner, she connected her mind to Dumbledore's and quickly spoke. (Aidrian is being broken from me. Distract the caster and let him get away.) She finished by flashing a general location of where they were and she felt the wizard move away from her.

The break in concentration didn't go unnoticed as she felt part of their connection break off completely and Alia screamed again. It hurt everywhere and the fatigue of the power she had already used so far was beginning to catch up to her and she was losing her hold. Her focal point had once again started to distort, reflecting the damage that was being done and small chunks of the ring were already gone. She was losing her brother.

(Alia, I can't hold on,) her brother's voice called to her weakly and the added strain on her mind was too much.

She lost her hold and what was remaining of the ring of her focal point shattered. Every part of her body screamed as it felt like she had just been cut down the middle. Her Territory reacted as well, shooting out around her without her control holding it back. The overload on her senses was all it took and she fell unconscious.

* * *

In Harry's opinion, settling into the Gryffindor dorms had never been harder. Neville, Seamus, and Dean had been among those informed of Harry's "condition", as they referred to it, had done well to escort him to his dorm without any problems, but Draco Malfoy passing through the Gryffindor common room had been impossible to hide, especially accompanying Harry Potter. They were basically required to escape to the room Harry shared before any students decided to resort to pulling out their wands. Harry wouldn't put it past some of these kids, despite all the members of the DA having already being warned. 

"Your house members are all insane. You realize that don't you?" Draco asked as Harry started unpacking.

"Of course I know that. I've only been in this house for five years now. Man, that was harsh on my Territory," Harry mused as he changed his concentration so he could observe his Territory. Being connected to Harry allowed Draco to see his Territory as easily as Harry did and the Slytherin focused his gaze on the magical field.

"It hasn't been able to touch anybody familiar all day. It probably misses Alia," Draco said with a shrug.

"I wonder what's going on with her. We haven't heard anything from her in over a week and classes start tomorrow. All she was supposed to do was go visit her parents and then come back, right?"

"She was ordered to stay with them until she was to come here," Draco clarified. "She might already be here for all we know. Anyway, we should try meet with Dumbledore today to try and work out a living arrangement. I don't know how well you'll be able to handle sleeping in the same room as four other wizards."

"I sleep in the same bed as you and one of these wizards is partially bonded to me. It shouldn't be a problem."

"Hey, Harry," Ron's voice warned of his arrival before he entered the room. "McGonagall just gave me a letter to pass on. It looks like a call to Dumbledore's inner realm." Harry smiled at his friend's word choice. Ron handed him the small parchment and he read the letter.

"We have a meeting with Dumbledore as soon as we're settled and available," he informed his stabilizer, who shrugged in response. "Hopefully Alia will be there and we can find out what happened to her last week."

"Do you think you will be able to handle going to the Sorting today?" Draco asked, always one to be slightly overprotective.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll have much of a problem. How about you? Do you think you'll have any problems with the Slytherins?" Harry was thoroughly concerned for Draco's safety in his house.

"In the Great Hall, there's no trouble whatsoever, but I'm worried about the common room and dorms. I need to talk to the ones I've been in contact with and tell them the rest of the situation and see how they will react. If I'm going to be in any danger, I'll need to work out a living arrangement with Dumbledore."

"The problem would be getting a chance to talk to them without getting your head blown off before you get to the point," Ron interjected.

"Unfortunately, yes. The only ones I've kept in contact with are Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle," Draco answered. "They are the only ones who I know don't just follow me around because of my father. They are actual friends."

"Those exist in the Slytherin house?" Ron chided.

"Not now, Ron," Harry interrupted before Draco could rise to the obvious challenge. "All that I care about is that you aren't putting yourself in danger daily by remaining in your dorms."

"We won't know until I can talk to just the four of them. And I'm only going to tell them that I'm involved with you. Telling them about sorcery is too risky, even if they prove their allegiance a thousand times over."

"If Pierce and Alia both agreed on not releasing the information to anybody, then they probably had good reason for it," Ron added. Harry was very inclined to agree. Sorcery was not well known as it was. Informing the whole wizarding world about it was not something that he was about to do.

"Speaking of Alia, how is she going to keep her power a secret if she doesn't use a wand?" Draco asked, getting off the subject for now since there really wasn't anything they could do about it.

"That's a good question. When she was training me, she always used her hands to form whatever they use that resembles spells and channeled it through her Territory to give it actual effect. Her runes and the Shintatsu are the closest she comes to requiring something to channel her magic," Harry thought it over, coming up without an answer.

"Maybe she'll just make us read like Umbridge did," Ron suggested.

"Hopefully, that won't be the case. I don't want a reason not to like her. Anyway, if her training methods for me are anything to go by, then I know she's not one to be able to sit around doing nothing."

"Her training methods included attacking you," Ron pointed out.

"Well, she wasn't sitting around making us read useless information."

"That is one unusual way of putting it," Draco said.

"Well, we've already determined that I'm just plain weird."

"Weird puts him too sane," Ron added.

"Enough with the teasing, please," Harry interjected before he could get too much more insulted, not that he actually cared all that much. "Anyway, we should go ahead and meet with Dumbledore."

"Do you want me to tag along to the office? That way you have some company to make it look more like Draco lost his mind. Him walking with Harry Potter would get enough attention, but Ron Weasley walking with Draco Malfoy quietly might turn even more heads."

"If you came along as well, there would be no hope of not getting _everybody's_ attention," Draco replied in kind.

"You had the thought we would escape even one individual's attention?" Harry asked incredulously. "What's wrong with you?" Draco had to admit that the sorcerer was right. They were two students at Hogwarts that didn't have to even try to get attention – all they had to do was breath and people looked their way.

"Well, get going before you run out of time. I want to have some free time before we have to be in the Great Hall."

"Spend time with Hermione," Harry suggested. "You two can get some time alone now that you don't have Ginny and your parents breathing down your necks."

"Yeah, now you can tongue each other all you want and not get caught," Draco added. Ron's face turned dark enough to match his hair and he made a point to leave as quickly as possible. Harry laughed as he put his remaining belongings where they belonged and announced that he was ready to go face the Headmaster. They made their way to Dumbledore's office, taking as many deserted halls as they possibly could, actually managing to get lost once, but arrived at the entrance without being spotted by anybody. McGonagall was seated to the side of the phoenix and gave a smile when she saw them walk up.

"Hello, gentlemen. It is wonderful to see that you are doing well," she greeted and Harry smiled.

"It's nice to see you are still well, Professor," Harry replied formally, even though the situation didn't call for it. It got a laugh from the professor as she stood and faced the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Jelly bean," she said and the staircase began to rise, opening the way to the Headmaster.

"Doesn't he ever run out of candy to use?" Harry said as he shook his head.

"He's very close to resorting to American sweets," McGonagall replied with a straight face, but her eyes shone in amusement.

The three finished the short journey in silence that lasted until the door to the office was opened and Harry saw who was in the Headmaster's company. McGonagall had just opened the door so the conversation that had been going on continued without interruption.

"I haven't used my wand since I was like ten years old and I never got used to it then. So please tell me why I absolutely have to use one now," Alia asked as she looked over a wand. Harry noted that she held the wand with the tip facing her body and the end where she was supposed to grasp it was pointed at Dumbledore. The way she was holding it looked like she was threatening the wizard, but any danger was practically non-existent and it looked like Dumbledore was having difficulty holding his amusement.

"Have you ever cast a spell with the wand?" Dumbledore asked in his gentle voice, but Harry sensed how close he was to laughing – the wizard was bubbling with amusement.

"Only once because it didn't do me any good. I cast your levitation charm and I ended up on the ceiling. I just don't get how you guys handle this annoying contraption. After that, I put this thing away and haven't touched it since." Harry could sense that Alia was actually serious. Draco was close to bursting out in laughter and his humor wasn't helping Harry keep quiet. "What's so funny?" When she didn't receive an answer she turned her head slightly to glance behind her so the boys knew she was asking them to.

"You seriously didn't know that you are holding onto the wrong end?" Draco asked, not one to care what consequences the teasing could hold. "You're holding the tip that's supposed to be pointed where you want the spell to go." Alia looked down to the piece of wood clasped in her hands and blushed darker than Harry had ever seen a person get.

"I didn't want to sound rude, so I didn't mention that," Dumbledore said in his defense. Harry had to agree that he wouldn't have said anything unless she had asked or said something that would give him a reason to work the fact in, but Alia didn't seem too inclined to forgive the Headmaster quickly.

"I guess I should have had my mom help me out when I picked it up."

"Didn't you get it from Olivander?" Harry asked.

"No, it's my mom's old one. She said it would work fine for me since my Territory could adapt to it. I was in Africa on an assignment when she sent it to me and by the time I saw her again, it had been put away."

"Well, since the levitation charm worked for you so well, I would say she knew what she was talking about," Dumbledore said with a smile as Draco and Harry moved into the room and sat down behind Alia, who turned and moved to an empty chair beside them. She was sulking on the inside, but didn't let it show.

"Wait, your mom is a witch?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, and her specialty is locking charms in case I don't come back when I'm supposed to after a visit home."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Now, to get to the business at hand. You don't need to stay for this, Alia," Dumbledore interjected.

"What's your point?" the sorceress replied. The Headmaster paused for a few seconds before he shook his head slightly with a smile.

"Forget I said anything. Now, for your sake, Harry, Alia said that it's best to keep not only yours, but her, true magical nature a secret. It should be relatively easy as long as anybody who already knows keeps it to themselves."

"We haven't told anybody except the other three in my dorm room," Harry explained. "As members of the DA and friends, I trust them with my life."

"It's good that you have people that you can trust within your house, Harry. What about you, Draco? Are you going to tell anybody?" Draco was silent as he considered the option.

"I really have to see what those in Slytherin have to say. I have been in contact with my closest friends but I still need to speak to them face-to-face to really know whether or not they can be trusted with all the information," Draco's voice was even, but Harry could sense the anxiety within his stabilizer. He reached out and took Draco's hand. The Slytherin didn't refuse the contact in the slightest and allowed Harry to offer whatever comfort he could.

"Then I will keep your options open until you know," Dumbledore said then turned to Alia again. "Learn how to use your wand by tomorrow, Alia. Have Minerva and Severus help you if you need it."

"But I don't need a wand," Alia complained. "It's not like there aren't wizards who can't do wandless magic." She pointedly glanced at Harry, then back to Dumbledore.

"It will attract too much attention. It's not like it will inconvenience you to learn how to use a wand."

"So you say," Alia muttered. "I'll use it, but I won't like it. Do you have an idea how much these things nullifies my magic? It's unnatural and totally unnecessary."

"Is the problem that it's unnatural or that using it makes you just like us?" Dumbledore asked. Harry looked over to Alia and watched as she lowered her head and looked at the wand in her hands.

"We're not like you. Why is it so hard for you wizards to get that we can never be like you?"

"Harry may be a sorcerer, but he was, for all purposes, a wizard," Draco pointed out.

"Good for Harry. I'm a born and raised sorceress. Sorcery is my bloodline and for me to pretend it was any other way isn't right." Harry had to admit she had a point. She was different from them, just like he was different in his being raised by Muggles, cut off from the world of wizardry. "My orders are to encourage an alliance between wizards and sorcerers. How can I do that if everybody thinks I'm a witch?" Dumbledore silently regarded Alia for a few seconds before he smiled gently.

"Very well, the decision is yours. But I suggest caution if you decide to not withhold your true nature."

"Well that's one huge 'duh'," Alia replied with a grin.

"Anyway, Draco, I suggest you arrange a meeting with Slytherin immediately. It would probably be best to get it over with today," Dumbledore said.

"I'll settle it today, probably after the Sorting."

"I see how you are: attack when they're bloated full of food," Alia said lightly.

"If it works, don't break it."

"Then I'll speak to you again tomorrow before classes start about a permanent living arrangement if it's necessary to change it," Dumbledore said with a smile at the conversation. Draco nodded in response before going silent once again. "As for you, Harry, Alia will begin teaching the more advanced sorcery tactics. She has already agreed and it was actually the Council's recommendation."

"If I was going to continue training, why didn't they just send Pierce along with us?" Harry asked.

"Pierce actually does have a job at the Council, no matter how insane he may seem," Alia answered.

"We know, he told us about it," Draco filled in.

Alia simply shrugged and continued. "I expected him to wait until I was gone to spill that on you. Anyway, once you have the basics down, your training is my territory. I specialize in the more advanced manipulation of your Territory, like forming attacks. I'll make sure you keep up on control exercises and when you're ready, you'll learn the real stuff that separates us from wizards."

"Why don't I just go to sorcery school and forget about coming here?" Harry asked. This really sounded like too much work, even for him. It also sounded easier to keep his change a secret.

"No matter what anybody says, your magic will still work the strongest when used like a wizard. Creating an attack with your Territory takes years for average sorcerers to master and they don't get stronger until you have complete control over them."

"Then why are yours so strong? Those things hurt," Harry finished quietly, mainly remembering the pain of being hit by something Alia threw at him.

"What I threw at you was put out at about a quarter of its full power. If I hit you full blast with any of my attacks when you first started learning, you would have been in bed for days, but that's beside the point. Pierce said that you will need a little more practice with control so I'll start training you next month."

"Well, I believe that is all for now," Dumbledore said before anybody else could get a chance. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Draco. Have fun at the feast." Harry was the first to stand, partially used to Dumbledore's habits. The other two were soon to follow and they made their way to the door. "Learn to use the wand, Alia. Even if you don't use it, you'd be better off with the knowledge."

"Leave me alone, I know," Alia replied and closed the door behind her.

Harry was finally given the chance to really look at the sorceress. Once the door was closed, she had leaned against it with a heavy sigh. Everything about her looked tired. Even her Territory was slow to reach out to touch its friend.

"Are you alright, Alia?" Harry asked slowly.

"It's been a long week," Alia answered simply and stood up, as if remembering that she wasn't alone.

"It's more than that. You've never felt this tired before. You haven't even _looked_ tired."

Alia quickly debated whether or not she should tell them about going through Rokay. If she did, she would probably have to tell them of her suspicions that Voldemort was able to force sorcerers to serve him. That alone seemed impossible enough since none of the three Unforgivable Curses worked on sorcerers or their stabilizers. The innate power of a sorcerer cancelled out the effect of the curse and that particular part of their magic was a component in the connection to the stabilizer, passing on the protection when bonded. She knew that if Aidrian had survived the break – which she was certain he had since the spell to cause the separation rarely did any physical damage – then he no longer had their connection to defend him from the Imperius. If he were under Voldemort's control, the Dark Lord would definitely use that against her. He had said himself how much of a threat she was. _She_ knew she was a threat.

Harry looked over to Alia, who had been silent for a long time now, and frowned at the look of utter despair she had. He could feel her indecision and he was hesitant to say anything in case it did something to ensure her silence. Something major had happened to her when she was in America that had eaten away at her endurance and Harry could tell that her mind was unfocused and weak.

"Just tell us and maybe you won't be so bad off," Draco suddenly said. Harry hadn't realized that his stabilizer had used their connection to find what Harry had sensed. Alia looked over to him and her eyes darkened in anger, which actually slightly worried Draco, but he didn't show any anxiety on his face.

Alia closed her eyes and Harry felt her resolve strengthen greatly. It took him a moment to realize that she was doing it to lock him out. Eventually, he couldn't pick up anything from her and her Territory was as close to her body as it could get.

"Until I know anything for sure, nothing happened. That's all your getting, so give it a rest." She walked past them, obviously escaping before they could convince her otherwise.

"We deserve an answer if it's going to put Harry in danger," Draco called out to her. Alia paused in her step and sighed again.

"If that's your concern, don't worry. Voldemort's objective right now is sorcerers, and to him Harry is still just a wizard." She continued down the hall and Harry let her go, realizing what she meant.

(So she's the one who needs the protection of Hogwarts,) his mental voice was quiet and he was slightly upset knowing that Alia was in such danger simply because of who and what she was. Even though he hadn't known her long and she sometimes did things that really upset him, he respected her for what she had to deal with and he knew she was going to be a close friend.

And friends were definitely what they needed right now.

* * *

Meeting with the other residents of the Slytherin house had never been harder for Draco. It had taken him forever to just write the letters to those he was going to meet with. Harry, who had been attempting to let Draco handle the situation on his own, had eventually grabbed the quill and parchment away from his stabilizer and wrote down a time and place for the meeting to take place. He let Draco work out a signature on his own. 

So, here they were after the Sorting and feast, standing not too far away from the Whomping Willow, waiting for four certain Slytherins to show up for a very serious discussion.

(I never thought I would actually want to get along with Slytherins,) Harry speculated once the two were settled. They had come about ten minutes early to guarantee that they were there first.

(And I never thought I would get along with Harry Potter.) That was a good point.

"That wasn't all that hard to do. You haven't spent the last few years fighting some of their parents," Harry decided to voice that point. Their mental communication was getting easier since they used it so much, but some things were best said aloud to emphasize the point. Well, that and their friends didn't like being left out of the conversation.

"Will you get it over with and admit that you're nervous so I can get over feeling it?" Harry finally pressed. He knew the only reason he was nervous was because Draco was and it was strong enough to cross through their connection and affect him. Sure, he was anxious about the fact that the meeting might end in a fight, but he knew that between him and Draco, the Slytherins wouldn't stand a chance.

"I'm not nervous, Harry," Draco insisted.

"And I've memorized _Hogwarts: a History_."

"No, that would be Hermione." Draco said.

"Exactly my point, now get over your stupid pride and relax." Draco was about to continue the little spat when Harry felt four people approaching. "Well, get over it quickly because they're coming and you'll work better if you aren't jittery."

"Get off my case and I might just be able to comply," Draco replied sourly just as four cloaked figures came into view, heading in their direction. Harry and Draco remained silent until the four reached them.

Grabbe, Goyle, Blaise Zambini, and Pansy Parkinson were the only ones Draco had kept in contact with and so they were the only ones Draco had decided to call. After all, his dorm room was shared with the three boys and another he rarely spoke to so if everything went well, he wouldn't need to tell anybody else. It was better to be safe then sold out.

"Thank you for responding," Draco said evenly.

"We couldn't just turn you down after speaking to you over the summer. If we did, we would lose whatever trust you seem to hold in us," Pansy replied. Her tone was even, like Draco's, but Harry could feel her discomfort at the situation. In fact, it seemed like all of them didn't know how to deal with what was going on. They were all one big group of confusion, which Harry honestly found amusing.

"Anyway, you couldn't blame us for wanting to confirm that you and Potter are in fact on good terms," Zambini added.

"I need to know if Harry or I are in danger in speaking with you or if I'm going to be slaughtered in my sleep by the members of my House," Draco cut straight the point so quickly that Harry didn't even know he was going to say anything about it yet. It also seemed that Harry was the only one surprised by his stabilizer's blunt methods. Ah, the ways of the Slytherins…

"We understand your hesitation in trusting us," Pansy responded. "I know we aren't far down the list of students the Dark Lord is going to want to have a little talk with."

"We'll have to know that switching sides will really be the best choice," Goyle added. Harry admitted that he didn't think Crabbe or Goyle would join the conversation.

(They may not be the brightest, but once you get their loyalty, it's hard to get rid of them,) Draco said, catching that train of thought from Harry.

(I suppose that's a comforting thought.)

"You'll have to decide sooner or later. Anyway, that's currently not my concern. The fact that I turned my back on Voldemort is pretty much common knowledge now and I need to know if I'm going to be in danger by staying in the Slytherin dorms."

The other four were silent for a brief time before shaking their heads. It was Zambini who replied. "We're not sure about the rest of the house, but we won't be putting you in any danger. We'll watch your back if we need to."

"That's all I need to know right now," Draco's mind would have sighed in relief if it could. As it was, Harry's partner relaxed tremendously. In fact, the whole atmosphere lightened and it seemed that the Slytherins now knew exactly how to deal with each other.

"I'm curious about something, though," Pansy suddenly said.

"Just one thing?" Grabbe asked jokingly.

"I'm getting around to the other stuff, just hold on!" the girl shouted, causing Grabbe to shrink slightly. She then turned back to Draco and then she glanced at Harry, who moved slightly closer to Draco. "How good of friends are you two?" she asked, causing Harry's breath to catch as he looked over to his partner.

(What are we supposed to say to that?) he asked Draco nervously.

Draco looked between the Slytherins and Harry a few times before shrugging. Without warning to any of them, he moved his hands to grasp Harry's cheek and pulled the shocked sorcerer into a passionate kiss, not holding back anything, least of all his tongue. Harry completely forgot that they weren't alone and responded by reaching his arms around Draco's waist.

The pleasure lasted until they broke apart and Harry realized that they had an audience and his cheeks turned deep red. The reaction of the Slytherins was silent and their eyes were a little wider than before. Zambini was the first to crack a smile and soon all four of them were laughing heartily, throwing some comments about Harry's current skin color and Draco replied by joining in on the teasing.

(What did I do to deserve a stabilizer that likes teasing me more than protecting me?) Harry complained.

(Stop being so bashful and the teasing will lose its appeal,) Draco's response was airy and happy.

(This is going to be a long lifetime.)

Draco only laughed harder.

* * *

"Do you have any idea how Alia is going to handle this?" Ron asked as he, Harry, and Hermione made their way to their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It was the second day of classes and so far Harry had been doing great in his control over Sil. He had decided to make sure to work in a daily trip to the Room of Requirement to give his Territory a chance to get a chance to spread out freely. Pierce and Alia had both told him that if a Territory is given freedom a lot, it would pay attention better when you needed it to behave. 

"I have no clue. I don't even know if she's going to act the part of a witch or just flaunt her sorcery," Harry responded in a low voice to keep the students around from catching too much.

"Somehow I don't think that Alia would be able to keep up the guise of a witch for very long," Hermione joined the conversation. "She loves what she is too much to want to change that."

"When I saw her in Dumbledore's office she didn't seem like she was going to even try out acting like a witch so she's probably just going to be what she is and let the students deal with it."

"That sounds like Alia," Ron said with a grin. "But how are you supposed to deal with acting like something you're not?"

"It's just another act to add to the roster," Harry replied with a glum tone. He really wasn't psyched about having to pretend that he couldn't pick up the feeling and magic around him, but it was the way things had to be. If anybody found out, word would spread across the wizarding world in no time. He was already having trouble keeping his imagination off the possible headlines splashed across the _Daily Prophet_.

They reached the DADA classroom and made their way to their seats. Harry looked back to where Draco say with Zambini. Two nights in the Slytherin common room and no cries for help in the middle of the night told Harry that things were relatively safe with his partner. They hadn't gotten a chance to really talk about it, but Harry decided to bring that up today after classes.

(Good morning, love,) Draco's smooth voice filtered into Harry's mind and he accepted the comforting feeling instantly.

(Always nice to hear from you,) Harry replied in kind. (So, have you talked to anybody for an inside scoop on how Alia is going about teaching us?)

(Sorry, but I don't speak to Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs on a daily basis.)

(Even if you tried, they would probably pass out from the fear.)

I'm not that bad.)

(Obviously you haven't run into yourself in the halls before.) It took a second for what Harry actually said to catch up with him. (I forbid any comments from you on that.)

(Damn, and I had a good one too.)

"Heads up, Harry," Ron said as he bumped Harry's arm gently. Harry looked to the door that led to the teacher's office and saw Alia step out. He noticed the whispers start around the room catching a few that commented on how young she was. Alia didn't help by jumping over the last few stairs. She really needed to work on her timing of acting like a five-year-old. Oh well, at least Pierce wasn't here or the class would really have a handful.

"Greetings to all you Slytherins and Gryffindors. My name is Alia Jerona and I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Don't worry: your headmaster hasn't lost whatever marbles he has left. I do know what I'm doing."

(Most of the time anyway,) Draco added lightly.

Alia glanced over to Draco, letting him know that she had caught the connection between the two. Even though she didn't know what he had said, she knew the Slytherin and was sure it was a sarcastic comment on her account. (Damn, she can sense when we communicate. There goes my pastime.)

(Hasn't slowed you down yet,) Harry replied before lowering their connection slightly to cut off the communication. Draco could raise it again, but maybe he would get the hint and keep it closed. Harry also hoped that his stabilizer would not try to annoy Alia _too_ much.

"You're like sixteen years old," a seventh year Slytherin suddenly exclaimed. "What good could you be?"

"Hey, I'm seventeen," Alia clarified with a glare to the boy who had spoken. "A word of advice; don't make assumptions about people, they usually turn out wrong." Alia moved toward the desks and began pacing throughout the desks as she spoke. "I might not be able to really teach you anything when it gets down to it. I had never set foot in Hogwarts until yesterday when I arrived and my knowledge of wizards is limited."

(At least she's being honest,) Draco said and instantly lowered the connection again.

"Then what good are you?" a sixth year Slytherin asked.

Alia's reply wasn't verbal. Instead she opened her Territory to cover the whole room and put a form of magic into it that revealed it to everybody. Harry reacted by drawing his own Territory in as close to him as it could get. It wouldn't help to allow his Territory to bond with Alia's and receive the same magic feed causing it to appear as well. Alia showed her appreciation for the action through a feeling of gratitude emitted through her Territory that only a sorcerer would be able to pick up.

The reaction of the students was a shocked one and all just looked around them to the veil of black that covered all of them.

"This is called a Territory. It's an area of highly concentrated magic that is bonded directly to my thoughts. If I want, it can connect to every one of your minds and let me read your thoughts like a book, but I won't because I do have some morals. That and I really don't want to know what's going through the minds of some of you." That brought a strained laugh from some, showing that anxiety was still high. "I'm what is known of as a sorceress."

"Sorcerers are all dead though," Colin Creevy said. Harry silently thanked the boy for forgetting his camera or this would be on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ tomorrow, even if Alia killed him for it.

"It's nice to know at least some people know their history. Sure, we were hunted down and killed because one of us lost control and went on a bloody rampage. We weren't smart in how we dealt with our powers back then and it was common for someone to go crazy, we just handled it ourselves." Harry recalled what they did to sorcerers who lost control.

Now that he thought about it, a sorcerer losing control these days had to be rare with how arranged the Council was about how their magic worked. Back when wizards were hunting them down, it was mainly guesswork that fueled their training since they couldn't really study it without getting caught. They must have lost a lot of good sorcerers simply because they got too strong for understanding.

"Anyway, since not all of you know exactly what sorcery is, our first lesson will focus on sorcerers and how we use our magic."

(So far, so good if I do say so,) Draco said with a smile to his words.

(Maybe she'll actually be okay with this,) Harry replied.

The door opened and the class looked back to see Snape walking towards the front of the classroom as if it were his own. "There you are! Geez, what took you so long?"

"I had to finish up with my own class, Professor Jerona," Snape replied coldly.

"I asked Snape to give me a hand with my demonstrations. I would use one of you, but Snape is more experienced when it comes to dueling and that's what I need." Alia pulled her Territory back in and instructed the class of what page to turn to in their books.

(At least she isn't calling him 'Snappy' and he isn't calling her 'Shorty',) Harry noted.

(They must have made up some sort of a working relationship to keep to in public. I can't wait to see them in the halls with no students to keep them calm.)

Harry read over the page Alia had instructed them to turn to and wasn't surprised that it was a breakdown of how sorcery actually worked. He read over a few lines and realized that this had to be done by a sorcerer considering how close it was.

"The first thing you'll notice is that we don't use wands," Alia said as she reached under the cloak she wore and pulled out her wand. She moved it to the table beside her and set it down. She then turned back to Snape, who drew his wand out and held it to his side. "Don't worry, we aren't going to duel seriously. If we did, this room would be in pieces in seconds and I already promised Dumbledore that I wouldn't wreck the room on purpose."

(I don't see how that's stopping her,) Draco was now doing this simply to annoy Alia. Harry knew it was beginning to work because she sent a really dark look in his direction.

(If you don't knock that off, Malfoy, I'll use you in my demonstration instead of Snappy,) Alia's voice suddenly rang through Harry's mind, and by the feeling of shock from his stabilizer, Draco had been scolded as well. Harry made sure to ask Alia how she communicated with them without the bond. Draco didn't respond, so Harry guessed that he was taking Alia's threat very seriously.

"Another key in our magic is it's innate defenses. Professor Snape, I want you to cast either the Imperius or the Cruciatus curse on me. I would ask for the Avada Kedavra, but it's not necessary to prove my point. Besides, these kids don't need to be exposed to that if it can be avoided." Snape looked uncertain, telling Harry that Alia hadn't informed him of what exactly he was supposed to help her do.

"Hey, it doesn't say anything about the three Unforgivable curses in this book," Seamus said quickly, seemingly in an attempt to steer their professor back towards sanity.

"That's because I'm telling you something that hasn't been allowed to be known to wizards up until now." A recent conversation he had had with the sorceress came to mind and he recalled her saying that information was practically disclosed completely from wizards about how sorcery worked. "Now, Professor Snape, cast one of the curses but don't let me know what you are going to use, just so you know I'm not cheating in some way."

Snape hesitated for a few seconds before raising his wand and muttering the incantation of one of the curses. Harry was close enough to catch the word "imperio" and it occurred to him automatically that Snape had chosen the one that wouldn't harm her unless he ordered her to.

The spell flew from the wand and moved toward the sorceress. What Harry didn't expect was for a flash of white magic to come from Alia's body. Her body jerked back from the force of the small explosion that sprang from her forehead to meet the curse. The spell didn't last long and was devoured by Alia's magic within a second. Alia opened her eyes and glanced around the room. The whole room was silent and all eyes, including Snape's, were glued to the point where the magics had clashed.

(Did you know about this?) Draco's mental voice was shocked.

(No, I had no clue that she could actually destroy curses. I wonder if this is why sorcerers are so dangerous to Voldemort: the three darkest curses have no effect on them.) Harry took a few seconds to consider how he had figured that out exactly, but eventually just handed it over to instinct and let the confusion pass.

"So, any questions?" Alia asked with a small grin.

"How did you do that?" practically the whole class asked in unison. Snape had put on an unreadable expression and was looking at the sorceress as if she were someone who couldn't be trusted. Alia looked over to him and frowned at the look she was receiving before turning back to the class to explain what exactly had happened.

(I would say we're off to a good start,) Harry said as he relaxed slightly into his chair as Alia began an explanation of the basics of sorcery, which he already mostly knew. He paid slight attention for any facts that he didn't know, but kept most of his mind open to Draco's.

(Let's just hope Snape doesn't kill her before Christmas break just out of pure annoyance. I'm sure even she wouldn't mind lasting out the whole year.)

(I wouldn't be surprised if she took next year as well just to tick Snape off even more. That would just be another year that he failed to catch the job he's been wanting forever.)

(That is considering she lasts out the year, excluding murder attempts on Snape's part.)

"She'll be okay," Harry whispered to himself, hoping that he could convince himself that she really would be around for a long time and get past the feeling that she was only buying herself time.

* * *

A month had gone by and things were going smoother than any other year for Harry, excluding dealing with a certain sorceress sometimes. Sure, Defense Against the Dark Arts was awesome with Alia teaching them, but sorcery training was still hell for Harry, in his opinion. Alia arranged for Harry, Ron, and Draco to meet her in the Room of Requirement on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday of every week. If homework built up to a certain point, she would let them skip, but instruct Harry to at least meditate for an hour before going to bed. Harry thought that he was doing well in that particular area. Meditating made sleep easier and helped his concentration in class, so he would spend about fifteen minutes in meditation before going to bed and half an hour in the morning once he woke up. A lower level of meditation was also the easiest way to communicate with Draco if the Slytherin was anywhere in the castle besides in the same room. 

Draco spending the night in the Gryffindor tower was becoming more common and the house members had finally been convinced that he wasn't going to assault them in any way, though some of the arguments of whether or not they should allow him in the dorm room with Harry often got very entertaining. But, despite all the arguing, they didn't attempt to kick him out or hold him back from Harry's room whenever he headed in that direction.

Harry had offered the idea of Draco just moving into his dorm room so he wouldn't have to track back and forth. Draco's answer had been, "I am not damaging my house pride by becoming Gryffindor's pet Slytherin." On a more serious note, he had added, "I can do best for us by being in constant contact with the Slytherins. I believe I'm making a difference in how they see what's happening in the world. If I left now, it would take too long to work back the loss." Harry didn't argue because he was currently enjoying the fact that some Slytherins seemed to be attempting at acting human towards the other houses.

A harsh blow to Harry had been Alia's order that he don't play on the Quidditch house team. Her excuse was that it was too much of a risk of overload with his concentration divided between keeping his Territory from going everywhere, simply because he would be excited, and playing the game. She saved herself from being ignored for about two weeks by encouraging Dumbledore to allow Harry to be a strategic planner for the team to help them get better. With Ron still having problems as Keeper, even though he was a lot better now, and having two new members to replace the twins the team needed all the help they could get and they accepted Harry's offer before he even finished asking.

Probably the biggest gossip that was always going through the mills concerned Harry and Draco's relationship and how far it had gone, and how long it was until Snape lost it and killed Alia. Sometime in the second week, the two had obviously forgotten that they were supposed to appear to get along in public and had somehow ended up with Snape in the infirmary with Alia pouting in Dumbledore's office. When Harry had asked her what happened, she said that he started throwing harsh words and spells first. She simply reacted so her pride wouldn't get damaged. She had also mentioned that she hadn't meant to return an attack and that instinct had taken over. When Harry asked what had actually started the fight, Alia had insisted that they start their sorcery session before it got too late to get a full exercise in since they had begun working on manipulating his magic into shields and attacks through his Territory.

So, Harry's overall opinion of the school year so far was that something bad was just about due to happen.

He wasn't far off as he received a letter in the sixth week into the year while he was in the library with Ron and Hermione from Alia calling him to Dumbledore's office immediately. He cleared his mind and concentrated on the link to his stabilizer as quickly as he could. Get to Dumbledore's office right now, he said before bringing his focus back to what was around him. He told his two friends to take his stuff back to his room when they left and took off in the direction of the Headmaster's office.

He met Draco at the entrance and called out the password and ran the rest of the way. Harry at least had enough consideration to knock and wait to be let in, which Draco found to be a slight waste of time. Dumbledore's voice was heard granting them permission to enter. Harry opened the door to see Alia, Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, and surprisingly enough, Pierce and Jayce as well as three men and a woman that Harry didn't recognize.

"Harpo!" Piece called in his usual state of fool-hardy. Harry could tell he was about to run over and probably knock him down with a hug, but Alia sent him a look that told him that there was to be no nonsense going on right now.

"Harry, Draco, I would like to introduce you to the Pentagon Master, Reilan Xander…" One of the men only slightly taller than Alia, with long black hair and soft brown eyes waved. "…The old guy over there is the Red Brigadon, Kale Dartz…" A man easily in his mid-thirties with blue eyes and short black hair whose skin was marred with scars nodded. "…And those two are my parents, the Elemancer, Seph and his stabilizer, Elaine Jerona." Now that the fact had been pointed out, Harry could identify the similarities that she held to the last two, who didn't make any gesture to him at being named.

"What's going on?" Harry asked. He was really worried now. Why would four obviously powerful sorcerers come to Hogwarts, other than to deliver bad news? The feel that he was getting from the room was anxiety and concern, most of it coming from Seph, Elaine, and Pierce. "Alia, what's going on?" Harry insisted when the sorceress hesitated.

"Oh, just some sorcerers decided to start killing Aurors in the name of Voldemort," Seph answered instead. "The first kill was a week ago, and the Ministry of Magic and the Sorcery Council have tried to cover it up, but then more people started dying and it's not going to be long until everybody 'knows' that we can't be trusted anymore than we could centuries ago."

"How can you be so sure it was sorcerer's?" Draco asked.

"There have been no traces of spells cast on the bodies. The people were killed with magic formed into a weapon through the use of a Territory," the man Reilan answered. "And I've personally investigated the scenes and I recognize some of the sorcerer's techniques."

"So that's it: Voldemort is either controlling sorcerers or convincing them to join them through other means," McGonagall said solemnly.

"I doubt he's doing much convincing," Alia said. "Sorcerer's are overall more in tuned with the line between good and evil. We can sense feelings, after all."

"What do you think of the situation, Dark Adeptor?" Pierce's tone left Harry wondering if he requested or ordered her to answer. The use of her sorcery name led him to believe that it was more of an order.

"I think he's put the spell that severs the connections between the sorcerers and their stabilizers to good use and has somehow found a way to control sorcerers."

"Has that ever been done before?" Snape asked.

"It's been tested thoroughly, but nothing has ever completely worked," Reilan replied. "There was a spell devised for the purpose when sorcerers were first targeted by wizards, but it was easy to overcome."

"Just feel lucky that he hasn't gotten his hands on any of the black Territories," Kale spoke up for the first time.

"We'd really be done for if we had to face off against one of your kind." His eyes moved between Alia, Pierce, and Reilan as he spoke.

(Reilan must be another with a black Territory,) Harry concluded easily.

(Only two to go and we've met the whole roster,) Draco replied shortly. He was obviously uncomfortable with where the conversation was going.

"Harry, we're going to speed up your training as a precaution," Alia suddenly said as she turned to him.

"Ooh, and we're going to add weapon channeling. Isn't that just the coolest thing you've ever heard?" Pierce's craziness was obviously back in full effect.

"Do you really think that training him harder will make a difference?" Elaine asked her daughter.

"Mom, he learns fast and he adapts to any situation if given the chance," Alia hesitated in whatever she was going to say next. "I found what a silver Territory does. I stumbled upon it in one of my rune books."

"Well it's about time we got some answers on that," Draco suddenly said in a cold tone, meaning that it had worried him not to know.

"A silver Territory is kind of like a black Territory in that it represents the more ancient magic of our kind. Centuries ago, when sorcery was broken down into the less powerful categories, it was the silver Territories that did the breaking. Essentially, the silver Territory has the power to break something down to its simplest parts, and can even put it back together as the sorcerer wished."

"Isn't that close to what alchemy does?" Reilan asked.

"Alchemy is what's left of silver Territories. I think that the breakdown of sorcery had a reverse effect on the sorcerers with silver Territories and it ended up tearing their own magic apart and all that was left was the pieces called alchemy."

"What exactly is alchemy?" Snape asked. "I've heard vaguely of it, but nothing really solid."

"Alchemy is exactly what we said it was," Seph replied with a hint of annoyance. "It's where something can be broken down and, if the user wishes, put back together as something else. These days, the ability is rare and usually never gets powerful enough to do much of anything, but it used to be something major."

"So, how do I learn how to use my Territory like that?" Harry asked.

"You'll really have to find out for yourself. There's no way we could teach you with how limited our knowledge is on the subject."

"What are your plans, Seph?" Dumbledore spoke for the first time. "I'm sure you wouldn't all be here for nothing."

"Elaine and I are on guard duty unless Alia needs me here," Seph replied. "Some of your higher up are getting nervous by how many of their Aurors are dying and they figure 'who better to guard them from sorcerers that other sorcerers'. Overall, it's just going to be a pain in the ass." Dumbledore laughed at that point.

(Do you think we should make suggestions to those killer sorcerers of who we wouldn't mind being gone? Someone like, let's say, Umbridge.) Draco said with a slight grin directed to his partner. Harry tried not to laugh.

"I have to go to each of the murder scenes, read exactly what happened, make a report for the Council and the Ministry, and then get rid of any negative energies in the area that might have been created as a result of what happened," Reilan said in a tone that sounded like it should have come from Pierce.

"I'm ordered to follow Reilan around and see if I can find anything on whatever Voldemort is doing to control the sorcerers," Kale explained. "Then, if I get the chance, come back and teach Potter how to use instrumental channeling."

"I get to stay here!" Pierce shouted and jumped in place while Jayce simply shook his head.

"What?" Alia, Snape, Draco, and Harry asked at the same time.

"That's just mean. You sound like you don't want me here." Pierce's lip began to tremble slightly and his eyes were slowly filling with moisture.

"Uh-oh," Jayce said calmly. "Alia, if you don't want him crying for the next hour, say something to make him feel better."

"Um, we didn't mean it that way, Pierce. We just didn't know that you would be staying here and it just came out like that. Just don't start crying or we'll never hear the end of it." The last sentence was spoken quietly, barely audible to Harry.

"You mean you really want me here, Li?" Pierce asked hopefully in a tiny voice.

"Of course I want you here, P.B. I wouldn't want it any other way," Alia replied, obviously more sure of whether he would respond well or not. Pierce then turned to where Harry and Draco stood.

"Sure, we want you here. It's just too boring without you around," Harry added for both of them, knowing that Draco probably would rather hinder the situation than help.

"Yay, Li and Harpo really want us here Jayce!" Pierce exclaimed and jumped over to Alia, embracing her tightly. Harry temporarily wondered how Alia could hold the man and herself up without flinching, but he eventually chalked that up to years of experience.

"We're to be Alia and Harry's guard," Jayce explained further. "It looks like Voldemort is looking for her and he'll do anything to put her down."

"How can you be sure?" Dumbledore asked.

"All the Aurors that have been killed had notes stuck to their bodies, written in their own blood. They all say, 'I know her Prophecy. She will be my servant.'"

"What Prophecy?" McGonagall asked quickly, but all the sorcerers dismissed the question without a word.

"There's one more thing that I found on one of the scenes I thought I should mention," Reilan said. "When I was reviewing one of the murders, I was able to lock onto the sorcerer, and I have to say I'm confused by what I saw."

"What was it?" Kale asked for all of them.

"I thought…" he looked over to Alia and sighed heavily. "…I thought I saw Aidrian."

Alia's breath caught and she was obviously trying to work out the revelation to a bearable point, but wasn't getting very far. Seph and Elaine weren't very different from their daughter.

"One more question before we need to tend to the Jerona's," Dumbledore said. Reilan nodded for the Headmaster to continue. "What danger is Harry in? Does Voldemort know that he is, in fact, a sorcerer?"

"I couldn't tell you that for sure, but I have a feeling that he suspects something is going on with Potter for Alia to be involved. I think if he's allowed enough time and gets a chance to engage Harry in any kind of fight, he'll put the pieces together and figure it out for himself."

"What would you suggest?" McGonagall asked.

"Never fight him again?" Reilan gave a half-smile.

Alia finally seemed to recover from the blow she had been dealt as she sighed in frustration and actually tried to pry Pierce from around her neck. The man didn't budge and Alia gave up. "Why do all of my superiors have to be smartass'?" She asked nobody in particular which earned her smirks from the other sorcerers.

"The only thing we can really do at this point is try our best to prepare ourselves for an encounter with a sorcerer serving Voldemort and hope we can get some of these matters cleared quickly."

"To go back to the subject of my Prophecy, if Voldemort knew all of it, then he would know that there are two parts to it and the Prophecy is dependant on another person," Alia said after a short silence.

"Why is that?" Pierce asked as he finally let go of Alia and stepped back from her so he could observe her properly.

"Part of my Birth Prophecy says that in order to change the world, I have to lead one world and trust the silver power to lead the other world. If Voldemort ever knew that Harry was the silver power it talked about, his focus would return to killing Harry and I would be a moot point. We can't let that happen."

"Well I can't let you take the heat for me," Harry suddenly exclaimed as he realized what Alia was implying.

"Voldemort's been trying to kill me all my life. I can take care of myself and I'm not going to just stand around while you continue to be at risk for my sake." Harry's eyes fell as his mind recalled the pain others had gone through because of him. "I can't be responsible for anybody else dying."

Draco moved closer to him and wrapped his arms around Harry's waist partly to offer comfort, but also making sure Harry stayed on his feet. The sorcerer's mind was going through painful memories and they were quickly taking their toll on Harry's endurance, as well as his hold on his Territory. Draco offered his focus on keeping the Territory restrained so Harry's mind wouldn't be so strained to hold it in. (I've got Sil. You can let go.)

(No I can't,) Harry replied simply.

* * *

when anybody who reviews review, could you tell me if the way i show the mental conversations doesn't show up. i looked over the chapters posted and found that it didn't so i changed what i used. i was using the sguiggly line in the top left of your keyboard and now im using a version of the parenthasis and hopefully they'll work. tell me if they dont eventually i'll go back and fix that on the other chapters. 

**Review Replies:**

**Morena Evansong: **as you can tell, i just couldn't help but put Pierce back in the story and because you mentioned it, i can't help but have Pierce annoy Snape whenever he gets the chance. and pierce glomping jayce in Diagon Alley is one of my favorite parts of last chapter also. glad you like how Draco and Harry's relationship is developing. i'm comfortable with working it slow so thats how it'll be. SPOILER: we'll see some problems with Slytherin since all of them can't be good, but the four in this chapter will be ones loyal to Draco all the way through.  
thanks for not killing me and hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**BeautifulLady:** i regret the lack of Harry in chapter 4 also and it was hard to find somewhere to work him in because the interaction between Alia and her parents and the scene in Rokay was supposed to be the important points of the chapter. i tried to make up for it in this chapter. how did i do?  
hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**Shattered Diamond:** he's not done training yet, buti work in what hes doing into the story so i didn't think i would have to include it. hope you enjoyed this chapter more.

**zeynel:** i'm sorry for cutting the last chapteroff there, but i couldn't help it! it was just too perfect. ive been speaking to some author friends too much lately. they are masters at cliffies and i just couldn't resist getting a good one in there.  
harry's territory is finally described! bum-bum-bum. im kinda curious as to what name he's going to get as well, if you get any ideas, feel free to share. it wont be issued for a few chapters, mainly because im having problems figuring one out.  
i'm sorry for the long wait.i was getting so frustrated that i couldn't figure out how to bring it along and when it finally clicked i was so disappointed with it but i didn't want to go back and take longer to change everything around.  
i hope it isn't as bad as i thought it was.

**HandsOff:** thanks for reviewing and i'll put in some snugglys in the next chapter.  
would your name have anything to do with the manga or is it just my overobsessed brain?  
hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**Kevin:** hey there, man! like i saidfor Morena's reply, i think it would defeat the purpose to have them go quickly through their relationship, so i've kept it at a steady pace. you can tell how closer they're getting by how much more connected their minds are.  
voldemort only knew that Alia was going to get involved with Harry, but he didn't know the details of why. he just guessed it was for protection, but it still represented the sorcerers joining the side of light and therefore, against him. i know that eventually the secret will get out, but im putting it off as long as i can manage. all in all it will be an interesting thing to see.  
finally, what happened in Rokay is out and if people look hard enough at chapter 4, they can see future fights.  
yeah, you have a point with mcgonagall and snape having problems with Alia, i haven't really put it in really heavilly, but you can see it in how they act around her whenever she's planning stuff or speculating. i'm trying to work in something to show just mcgonagall and alia talking or snape and alia alone so everybody can see just how they feel about her.  
hope you liked this chapter and talk to you soon

**guani:** thanks for reviewing. i love seeing new names. you're lucky you didn't have to wait as long as the others. glad you like it.  
quite a few people have mentioned how quickly draco was accepted, and i go for this explanation: at first, it was more like "he's here and dumbledore trusts him here, so we have to deal with it. he ain't attacking us after all." but after the conversation on the porch between harry and draco, it became a real trust and things worked out from there. it seems to go quicker than it was, but it took weeks for draco to be truly accepted as an ally and even longer as a real friend to them. hope that works as an explanation.  
well, since i love my readers dearly (and i adore those who review even more) i updated and will continue to update. hope you enjoyed this one.

okay, for those who want me to send you emails telling you when ive posted a new chapter, give your email addy in your review, or send me an email with it included. my addy is in my profile.

give out a shout of thanks to **Majestrix**. that's my beta and she had to deal with me getting worried over losing the chapter and having to redo it because the disk i had it stored on fried.

well, ill try to update sooner this time  
**Kimra Dattei**


	6. Qualifications of Sorcery

**Story Title:** The Two Worlds of Magic  
**Romantic** Pairing: Harry/Draco, Pierce/Jayce, Ron/Hermione  
**Current Sorcery Pairing:** Harry/Draco, Pierce/Jayce, Maron/Mio  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Chapter Word Count:** 9,707  
**Beta: Majestrix**  
**Warning:** This story has SLASH, you know, the guy on guy goodness. If you haven't figured that out yet, you are in a state of denial that I haven't even heard of before.  
**Disclaimer:** J.K. Rowling is the genius behind all the original characters and story and i bow down to her geniusness.  
**Summary:** Wizardry isn't the only type of magic around. That's common knowledge. What isn't common knowledge is Sorcery. Sorcerers were supposedly wiped out hundreds of years ago, but now they're back and Voldemort won't let them join the side of Light, especially considering the rumors that say that Harry Potter has become a sorcerer, which shouldn't be possible.

hey there readers. im sorry it took so long to update. i just couldn't get the chapter to my approval and kept on restarting. even this way im not entirely convinced of how good it is. let me know please.

Morena Evansong said this in her review that i just have to share with you:  
Yay, Pierce is back! Will he "help out" in DADA class? 'Cause, you know, the students probably don't think their professor's insane enough yet, so I think they need to meet her superior. The poor children will from now on think that being a sorcerer means that you have to be missing a few cards in your deck.  
shes really onto something...

**Chapter 6: Qualifications of Sorcery**

Harry walked into the Room of Requirement and looked around the room to spot Alia or Pierce. He found them about a few hundred feet away and he began walking toward them, Ron stepping into the room behind him. Draco had told them to start without him, not giving them a reason for his tardiness. That fact alone gave Harry an edge to his attitude since he had to alter the concentration of his Territory to Ron since he had to have his stabilizer near him while training. It wasn't hard to alter the connection between his stabilizers, but it was annoying having to change it around often and Ron said that it took a lot of energy to keep up with Harry's Territory since he wasn't fully connected to it most of the time.

"Alia!" Harry called to her as he got closer.

"Hey Harpo!" Pierce answered instead. Harry waited for the assault of an embrace that usually followed the usual greeting, but was surprised when it didn't come. He looked over to the Dark Terrimancer in confusion, but understood once his eyes landed on Pierce. The sorcerer was giving his Territory a chance to move around freely. It surrounded him as far as it could reach comfortably and its movements were fast and playful, meaning that it had been probably a little too long since the last time it had been given proper exercise.

"When was the last time you get your Territory a break?" Harry asked. Pierce lowered his head in shame, causing his Territory to move closer to him and spin around him, its way of trying to cheer him up. Harry noticed that Reilan, Alia and Pierce's Territories, as well as his own, were more active without the sorcerer's control than Seph or Kale's. It seemed like the more powerful the Territory, the more of a mind of its own it possessed, which also made them stronger since they would act on their own to protect those who bore their power, hence giving them nicknames. Alia referred to her Territory as 'Eb', short for 'Ebony', sometimes.

Pierce let out a sad sigh and shook his head in disappointment. "I haven't let Sunny play since I got here a month ago." Pierce's strange nature even showed in naming his Territory.

"That's cruelty to Territories, boss," Alia said as she crossed her arms. After looking closer, Harry could tell that she wasn't restraining her Territory. It was close around her body, but there wasn't the feel of its usual state of awareness. It was relaxed and barely registered anything going on around it, meaning it was in a state that was described as a Territories version of sleep.

"You guys are just plain weird," Ron interjected.

"Buzz off, creampuff," Alia retorted.

(Creampuff?) Ron asked of Harry. Ron loved the mental communication that was available to him while actively Harry's stabilizer and used it whenever he could. Harry didn't mind though, considering how much he and Draco used it when they were sitting next to each other. In a way, it just seemed more natural and Harry wouldn't deprive his friend of the feeling.

(Maybe it was just the first thing that came to mind,) Harry replied.

(No, you guys are just too young to hear some of the words I had planned out,) Alia's voice echoed in both of their minds, causing them both to jump. Harry kept forgetting that when her Territory was relaxed everything it normally filtered out wasn't and so Alia felt absolutely everything. She seemed to be adept at picking up mental communication.

"You shouldn't spy on people's private conversations," Harry said.

"You should learn how to not broadcast them for us sorcerers who give their Territories a chance to relax daily," Alia shot back.

"I think that should wait until Draco's here."

"Duh," Alia replied before turning away in an obvious pout. She was getting harder to deal with, her temper being shorter and her words were having much more of an edge to them at all times. Aidrian's disappearance was finally getting to her – well that was Harry's opinion.

"Alright, kiddies, time to get down to business," Pierce interrupted and walked up to them. "We aren't going to officially train you today because Alia and I have official business to take care of and today is the only chance we're going to get."

"What business?" Alia, Harry, and Ron asked in unison.

"We've been ordered to take care of our assessments now before we get too involved in the war against Voldemort."

"They're still going to carry out assessments now with a war going on and our school out of commission for the next two months?" Alia asked.

"They're trying to get them done now before it really heats up. The Elemancer, the Red Brigadon, and the Pentagon Master were assessed before they were transferred here and I was told that once I got settled here, we would go through our normal routine."

"Pardon the interruption, but newbie sorcerer here who doesn't have a clue of what you're talking about," Harry said quickly.

"Yeah, and his friend," Ron added.

"The assessments are a way for the Council to determine if the sorcerer is fit to continue active duty. If they don't show that their abilities have improved, then they recall the sorcerer back to school." At the questioning look Harry gave Alia, she continued. "If a sorcerer isn't getting better or even stronger, then that means something is wrong with them and until their magic gets back to it's normal adaptation cycle, they aren't allowed to go on assignments."

"If Alia can't hold her own against me in battle, she'll be recalled to the Council and put into isolation until the situation with Aidrian is solved and we know what we have to do with her," Pierce elaborated.

"What exactly is included in 'holding her own'?"

"The last assessment that we had, she lasted three minutes and forty-two seconds against me in battle before she lost."

"Yeah, I almost failed since the one before that put me at three and a half minutes before I lost. If I hadn't lasted out those last twelve seconds, I would have been put back in the equivalent of sorcery elementary school."

"Have you ever beaten Pierce?" Ron asked.

"If I did beat him, I wouldn't have to take orders from him anymore. That's the other part of the assessment. You move up rank when you defeat your superiors in a battle. The other four black Territories are the only ones I haven't been able to beat, so I officially have lower authority than them."

"You wouldn't know by how much she ends up ordering us around."

"I don't order _you _around."

"Why not? I've always wondered at that."

"You're the only one directly in charge of me and you can get me discharged."

"Not that I would, but I'll make sure to keep that in mind."

"So, when's the assessment supposed to happen?"

"We'll have it here once Reilan, Mio, and Maron get here, which should be anytime today."

"Who are Mio and Maron?" Ron asked. Harry had told him about the other sorcerer's, but those two names were new.

"Those are the last two black Territories. They are the first bearers of the black Territories that have been related. They're fraternal twins, though you wouldn't guess by how alike they look," Alia explained. Harry sighed heavily. He really didn't want to have to deal with more sorcerers. So far the only sane ones he had met were Seph Jerona and Kale Dartz, who were the two who he rarely saw. "Don't worry; those two are probably the most down to earth people you've ever met. They're the only ones that Pierce will behave for at all times. Unfortunately they know that and rarely go near him, leaving the rest of the world to suffer through him."

"Maybe we can suggest they stay here for the students' sake. They still don't know how to deal with Pierce because he keeps acting weirder," Harry suggested.

"It's the only way I can think of to make sure they don't get too comfortable," Pierce explained. "People on edge are more likely to make mistakes. At this point the only thing Alia and I can do for the investigation the others are conducting is to find any spies here in Hogwarts and get all the info we can bleed from them."

"Just don't worry about us, Harry. We do know what we're doing," Alia attempted at comfort.

"Do you really?" Ron asked, obviously more dubious on that point than Harry.

"We may make stuff up as we go along, but it's been working so far," Pierce replied with a grin.

(These people are supposed to be the turning point of the war?) Ron asked.

(That was what I heard, but for some reason I'm beginning to doubt that point.)

(I doubt even Dumbledore would convince me that these people are going to beat the Dark Lord and Death Eaters.)

* * *

Harry and Ron had hung out in the Room of Requirement while Alia and Pierce waited for their battle's audience. Draco had come after about an hour and found the situation hilarious for some reason. He also found it funny to insult Alia mentally since her Territory was still totally relaxed. Harry had decided that it would be a good idea to let his own Territory relax while they waited. He hadn't given Sil a chance to relax in a long time and he was beginning to get tired from having to maintaining control over it. 

It was almost time for dinner when the three other sorcerers finally showed up. Reilan greeted Harry and Draco formally, showing them what respect he believed them to deserve, which was obviously quite a bit. Mei and Maron on the other hand seemed to not even notice that they were even there until Alia went about introductions.

Mio was about Alia's height and had blonde hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of green that were similar to Harry's, but had a slightly darker tint. Her skin was a darker tone that made her look like she spent all day in the sun. The only thing that disrupted her beauty was a long scar that started just below her right jaw line and ran down her face and neck, disappearing under the collar of her shirt.

Maron was almost identical to his sister. If it weren't for the fact that one was a boy and the other a girl, Harry would have sworn that they were actually identical twins. His hair was about as long as Harry's, but it was the same blonde that Mio's was and his eyes were the same shade of green. The tone of his skin was slightly darker and he was about 6 inches taller than her. His skin was also void of scars.

"Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, meet the Intertwined Darks, Maron and Mio Calon."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Harry replied politely, extending his hand to shake while pulling his Territory away from the contact. These particular multitasking methods were much easier now and were almost second nature."

"I thought you said that the son of your July 20th report was the silver Territory's stabilizer," Maron said with a frown.

"He is, and his name is Draco," Alia replied shortly.

(Great, now we have to deal with someone that Alia doesn't like,) Draco said dryly, the mental connection weak.

(It's not that I don't like him, but he can be a little too protective of me,) Alia's voice interrupted, meaning she still hadn't revived her Territory's filter. (I'll warn you now that Maron has been trying to convince my parents to arrange a marriage between us and make Maron my stabilizer.)

(That's a little self-centered,) Harry said.

(Yeah, well the Calon's may not be the best when it comes to manners, but they can certainly put out power like there's no tomorrow if they need to.)

"You claim that the blonde is his stabilizer, but the connection leads to the red-head," Mio interjected.

"I just forgot to alter my connection back to Draco. I was supposed to be training and he had to be somewhere, so I shifted the connection actively to Ron," Harry explained as he shifted his focus to the focal point of his Territory. The clear lightning bolt shaped break in the magic was rimmed red, signaling that Ron was currently directly connected to Harry. He pressed the rim back toward the center of the focal point, suppressing the connection back to a subconscious level for both himself and Ron. He then dug deeper into the power of the focal point and sought out the silver connecting that represented Draco's mind. He found it quickly through practice and drew it out to surround the focal point, it blending it instantly to the Territory.

(That's so much better,) Draco said once the connection was fully active. (I don't like to share.)

(I've noticed this much,) Harry replied in kind. (But it was your fault for not being here.)

"Well, that's a strong bond," Mio said thoughtfully. "They're as closely bonded as you and Aidrian, and that's saying something."

"Are we going to go on with this assessment or not?" Pierce interrupted quickly. "I've been waiting all day to get a chance to kick Alia's ass and I'm getting antsy."

"When are you not?" Maron replied. "Besides, who's to say that she won't beat you this time?"

"Aidrian isn't here to keep her on track."

"Enough, let's just get this over with," Alia said quickly as she turned and walked away from the small group. Harry watched her carefully as she reached down to a small pile that was off to side of the room and pulled her belt up, and fastened it around her waist.

"You actually think I'm going to give you a chance to use runes?" Pierce said with a grin. "You've never even been able to pull the Shintatsu from its sheath."

"Just watch me," Alia replied quietly as she walked back toward them."

"Come on, Potter. We'll be safest near the door," Maron said and walked away.

"At least if we're near the door we can escape if it gets out of hand," Reilan whispered to Harry, who jumped slightly. He had completely forgotten that Reilan was even there. "Those two like getting out of hand."

"Always handy information to have," Ron added. The three teens followed the sorcerers toward the door as Alia and Pierce faced each other.

As they reached the wall next to the door, Maron's Territory became visible to Harry and he could feel its power stretching out. He had felt this signal before when Pierce had reported his and Draco's bonding to the Council, but this time he could sense more of what Maron was doing. As Maron's Territory became visible, it created sort of a bubble of concentrated magic that would become the message. "The Intertwined Darks and the Pentagon Master witness the battle assessment between the Dark Terrimancer Pierce Baron and the Dark Adeptor Alia Jerona. The results of the battle will determine the improvements of Dark Adeptor's magic abilities over the past year. The second report I file will be the results." The message then simply disappeared, heading toward its destination.

"You can begin anytime, guys," Reilan called out.

For a few seconds, neither moved, but once they did, it was hard for Harry to follow without his Territory. Almost everything about their battle was magic assaults through their Territories even though they both kept the magic areas close to their bodies.

Alia suddenly bent down low to the ground and began to draw on the ground, obviously trying to get a rune up. Pierce reacted instantly and lunged toward her while forming his Territory in an attack. As he struck, Alia spread her Territory away from herself. Harry caught the difference in its concentration of power instantly. When the sorceress usually used her Territory, it was as closed off as it could possibly be, but now it was taking in everything. It was also channeling all her power, which he had never seen before.

Once her Territory touched the rune in front of her, there was a brief glow and she waved her hand in front of her body, creating a shield against Pierce's attack. The magic Pierce had sent at her clashed against the power of her shield and both powers shattered. Once the powers had dissipated, Alia rose and moved to avoid Pierce's next attack.

"Well that was fast," Maron said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, she was actually fast enough to get the rune drawn and up before Pierce attacked. She's getting really good," Reilan added.

(She moved away from a rune,) Draco suddenly said.

(What do you mean?)

(When the shield was up, she was drawing another rune, but she just moved away from it when the shield broke.)

(Maybe she's trying to draw Shintatsu. She told me that she only needs to line up the sword and rune for a second and then she can draw the sword anytime.)

(The problem now is getting a second. Pierce isn't taking anymore chances.)

Draco was right. Pierce had begun throwing waves of magical blades at Alia, keeping her moving around constantly so she wouldn't get hit.

"Incoming," Mio warned. Harry reacted instinctively, spreading out his Territory around them. He pictured the magic to be solid against the assault instead of receptive to it. His Territory reacted to the order and became a wall around them, the blades of magic coming from Pierce disintegrating on contact.

"Well that was interesting," Draco said calmly, but Harry could feel the underlying surprise in his stabilizer.

"How'd you do that?" Reilan asked. "Territories aren't able to become solid like that."

"What are you asking me for?" Harry suddenly went defensive.

"We're approaching three minutes," Maron said as if nothing else existed except the assessment. "If things continue like this we'll have to call it a draw. Pierce is running out of magic and Alia is getting tired."

Something flashed across the room that caught everybody's attention. Alia had both hands pressed to the ground in different locations, but both were glowing. "Shield!" she suddenly cried out. The glow from her right hand rose up around her and solidified into a shield just as a blade of magic from Pierce reached her.

"She was using the Shifting Rune all along. Smart move," Mio mused.

The glow from her left hand spread across the floor and then contracted again as she drew her hand quickly up from the floor.

"Damnit, you cheater!" Pierce called out to her before throwing a rather large wave of magic toward her, following the assault by spreading his Territory. The magic hit Alia's shield, obviously weakening it, and the immediate following assault by the power of his Territory overloaded the barrier and it shattered.

Alia was ready though and once her shield had fallen, she lunged forward with her formed Shintatsu ready to strike. The rune on the hilt of the sword of began to glow and the sword pulsed in response before turning blood red.

"Ah crap!" Pierce yelled before jumping away from the path of the sword. Once the blade of the sword touched the ground, there was a small explosion of fire that radiated from the tip before disappearing, leaving the ground slightly scorched.

"Well, that's definitely new," Mio commented.

Alia raised the blade from the ground and the blade returned to normal as she looked around for Pierce.

"The room is completely open," she said in frustration. "Not even Pierce could find somewhere to hide this good."

"That _was_ a compliment," Reilan clarified to Harry, Draco, and Ron.

"I would beg to differ," Ron said.

The ground beneath Alia shook slightly, and she looked down trying to figure out where exactly the disturbance was coming from. Before she could react, the floor fell out from under her and she lost her balance, falling to the cracking ground. The floor then exploded, sending Alia flying along with the chunks of rock that flew in every direction. Alia fell about twenty feet away from where she previously stood, landing on her back. Harry looked back to the new hole in the room to see Pierce climb out of it.

"That's what Alia gets for fighting him in a room that is completely formed from magic," Maron said. "Even the floor is magic and Pierce can manipulate any magic through his Territory."

Pierce spread his Territory out quickly and forced it around Alia completely. Her eyes snapped up at the feel of the Territories overlapping and tried to stand as quickly as she could, which wasn't very fast in light of her previous fall. Pierce closed his eyes and Harry felt the force of his Territory press down on Alia's control. Alia let out a short scream and the Shintatsu pulsed slightly and began to fade.

Harry looked closer and tried to find Alia's focal point. He was surprised to find it hovering directly over her head, reaching toward Pierce's Territory.

(Pierce is controlling her focal point. That's why her Shintatsu is fading: its power is connected to her focal point, which is her left hand. Pierce is moving it out of alignment and draining its power,) Harry explained to Draco.

"The assessment is over," Maron called out. "The winner of the fight is the Dark Terrimancer. Since the battle lasted four minutes and eighteen seconds, Alia Jerona passes her assessment, but remains under the command of Pierce Baron." There was a flick of magic, revealing that he had sent the report to the Council.

Pierce walked over to Alia as she returned the Shintatsu to its sheath within her Territory and extended his hand to help her up. She groaned and rubbed her back. "That really hurt, PB," she complained.

"Well so did that explosion trick you threw at me. I can't believe you dodged my attacks in a pattern that put you right in place to use your rune again. I didn't even see you draw the Shintatsu's rune when you erected the first shield."

"What is this, post-fight witty banter?" Draco asked, though obviously amused.

"My time was 4:18?" Alia called to Maron, who nodded. "Man, I'm just making it harder on myself to pass next time around."

"That was totally awesome!" Ron exclaimed. "Can you guys do it again?"

"Are you kidding? I've got a bruise the size of Alaska on my back and Pierce used all his magic up throwing those blades at me," Alia yelled back as the group made their way to the two.

"When did you learn to use the runes on the hilt to channel the elements?" Reilan asked.

"I figured it out a few months before the attack on Rokay. I haven't used it because it still takes a lot of power to manipulate the elements, sword or not."

"You never have caught onto the use of elements. I guess all that talent was used up by Seph," Mio said with a smile.

"Hey, when you've as much power as I do, the elements become kind of useless power."

"This coming from the loser of the fight," Pierce whispered to Harry.

"Yeah, she does tend to get a big head," Harry replied with a grin.

"I can hear you. Anyway, how did you figure out that the blade changing color meant that it was channeling fire?" Alia asked turning to Pierce.

Pierce shrugged slightly as he answered, "My Territory felt the heat coming from the rune and I made a wild guess. Sunny is really good at picking up the tiny details like that."

"I know. After all, you taught me to notice everything Eb feels."

"Yeah, in a way that's what makes you so dangerous," Reilan said in a rather subdued voice.

* * *

"Are you sure those two are right in the head?" Pansy asked Draco as the students filed out of DADA. 

"How should I know?" Draco replied.

"You and Potter seem to get along with them pretty well." Draco glanced over to Harry, communicating without really speaking. They were getting close to their fourth month of being bonded and they understood each other in a manner that was so intense it sometimes scared Draco.

"Well, I'm a little crazy myself, so we understand each other," Harry said as they started walking in the direction of the door.

"Mr. Potter, can I talk to you for a minute?" Alia's voice called. Harry turned to her and gave her a questioning look. Draco glanced back as well, but left the room with the rest of the class. Harry walked toward the front of the class where she stood once the room was empty.

"Next week is Christmas vacation," she said once he reached her. "Have you decided what you are going to do?"

"Draco's mom invited us to stay with her, the Weasleys offered up room and board, and Dumbledore suggested that we just stay here." Alia crossed her arms and gave him an incredulous look. "In other words, it's still under negotiation."

"When was the last time you talked to Dumbledore?"

"Our last meeting was four days ago when he suggested staying here."

"Let me know what you decide," she said before turning to where her cloak hung. She fished through the pockets and pulled out an envelope. "Here, this is for you from the Council."

"Why didn't they just send it to me directly?" Harry asked as he took the letter from Alia.

"I'm your superior. If they have something for you, they have to filter it through me."

"I thought you couldn't have authority over anybody until you beat Pierce in your assessment."

"It's complicated and I don't want to have to explain it right now. The bottom line is that if something comes up where you need to act on orders as a sorcerer, you would take orders from me. The letter tells you your sorcerer name, which signifies that you are now an official active sorcerer in service to the Council."

Harry looked down to the paper in his hands and opened the envelope slowly. He unfolded the letter and let his eyes read the words.

Harry Potter,  
We welcome you into the service of the Sorcery Council. We understand that this is a new way of life for you and will do all we can to help you adapt to our ways. The Magic Hunter will be your superior and her knowledge will be available to you at all times.  
From now on, sorcerers will recognize you as Silver Phoenix. That is your second name. We hope it holds your approval and you respect it as much as the name given to you at your birth.  
We wish you luck in your training, Silver Phoenix.

* * *

"So that's it?" Ron asked as he looked over the letter. "You're officially a sorcerer?" 

"I guess. Honestly, I thought that I was an official sorcerer when Draco and I were bonded," Harry replied, glancing over to his stabilizer who was reading the letter over Ron's shoulder.

"I wonder if it always takes this long for them to issue names," Hermione said thoughtfully. "You've been training as a sorcerer for almost five months now and bonded for four."

"They weren't sure what his power was until a few weeks ago," Draco said. "As I understand it, sorcerers aren't issued their names until their ready for active duty."

"Alia didn't seem too happy that I was already on active duty," Harry added. "Come to think of it, she looked downright pissed about it."

"Maybe she doesn't like the fact that she's your superior," Ron suggested as he handed the letter back to its owner.

"I don't know." Draco moved around to sit next to Harry. "She also wanted to know what I was going to do about Christmas vacation."

"Well, I've wanted to know about that for over a month and you still haven't decided," Draco said shortly.

"Well, I kinda don't want to stay here or go visit your mom. No offense on her part, but I'd just be too nervous."

"Circumstances considered, I doubt my mother would take any offense."

"So, will you just come to my house and celebrate with us?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, that would be the best thing to do, all things considered. The Burrow has already been set up to prevent Voldemort from launching any kind of attack."

"He's been unusually quiet lately, hasn't he?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, and last week when Reilan gave his report to Pierce, he said that the sorcerers that were being used to kill off Aurors were getting good at covering their tracks. The Council won't be able to pick anything up from them at all if it goes on like this."

"Then they know for sure that it's sorcerers?"

"Without a doubt. But anyway, I'm going to set up a meeting with Alia and Dumbledore and get everything worked out. The Council needs to understand that I can't just up and leave Hogwarts and keep me being a sorcerer a secret."

"Well, it could be kept a secret, but we would be watched so carefully, we couldn't keep our out of class interaction with Alia and Pierce a secret," Draco added.

"That alone would be enough to tip the more keen students in the right direction," Hermione added.

"If half the Slytherin House didn't figure it out within a week, my house pride would become practically nonexistent."

Hedwig flew in the open window then and landed on the bed next to Harry, who noticed a letter clutched in her talons. He took it and pet her briefly before opening the letter. Hedwig nipped at his fingers a few times before turning to preening her feathers.

"Looks like Alia beat me to getting together with Dumbledore. We have a meeting with them as soon as we get this."

"Just you and me?" Draco asked.

"No, she said for all four of us to be there."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ron asked as he stood and practically ran to the door.

"Excited much, Weasley?" Draco chided.

"He doesn't like being left out of stuff," Hermione defended.

"I don't like it either, but I have my superiors and I have to take orders, despite how I feel about it. You understand, right?" Alia's quiet voice sounded through the door and Harry looked back to Draco, who looked slightly concerned.

(Great, something else we're most likely going to have to worry about,) Draco said.

Harry knocked and after hearing Dumbledore beckon them in, pushed the door open and the four students entered the Headmaster's office.

"It didn't take you long to take care of things," Harry said to Alia jokingly. Alia didn't look very amused. In fact, Harry could feel a confusion of feelings coming from her and none of them were good. "What's going wrong _now_?" he asked in frustration as the four found themselves seats near the desk.

"I didn't want to tell you about this yet, but Pierce told me that it would be best to get it out of the way," Alia replied quietly.

"This has something to do with Harry being issued his name, doesn't it?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"Yeah," Alia sounded absolutely miserable. "I know you guys are going to hate me for this, but I don't have a choice in the matter."

"Why doesn't that make me feel any better?" Ron asked sarcastically.

"During Christmas break, you're coming with me and Pierce to America."

"Why?" Harry asked, his voice flat to cover any emotion.

"The Council wants our Prophets to see if you are really going to do them any good. If they don't see anything significant in you they'll let you go and I will be recalled from my position here at Hogwarts."

"You failed to mention that before, Alia," Dumbledore said in a calm, but stern tone. He obviously didn't appreciate not hearing that before. "I was told that your position here at Hogwarts was unrelated to your position as Harry's trainer."

"So did I, but the Council decided that in my condition, they don't need me here unless absolutely necessary and Harry's the only thing that makes me necessary here. If Harry doesn't represent any significance that the Council can see, then he loses the appeal that keeps me here. But they couldn't officially call him to be investigated by the Prophets without issuing his sorcery name."

"I'm starting to think the Council is more underhanded than the Ministry," Hermione said

"To someone who wasn't raised under their rules, of course it would seem that way. You have to take into account our history with wizards. Most of the Council don't agree with associating with you again and are looking for any reason to get me out of here. Unfortunately, those individuals have enough authority to do just that if they can prove that it won't do us any good for us to be here."

"I understood that your Birth Prophecy gave significance to Harry's sorcery," Dumbledore pointed out.

"They need to determine that for themselves. Just because I know something to be true, it doesn't mean that they have to take my word for it. I may be wrong on that account as well. They called him in to figure that out before we jump into anything that could get sorcerers killed."

"If it's decided that Harry has no significance to sorcery, what about the other sorcerers involved with the Ministry?" Draco asked. At the disbelieving looks Ron and Hermione gave him, he explained, "No matter how unlikely that is, we still have to be prepared for that possibility."

"We also have to keep in mind that the interests of wizards and sorcerers are different," Harry added, admitting something that bothered him deeply. It was that fact that hurt him the most; the fact that no matter what he did against Voldemort, it might hold no difference in the division between sorcerers and wizards. It was so similar to the difference between Muggles and wizards, but so much more serious because the outcome of a war may be decided by where the sorcerers stand.

"Harry and Draco both have good points," Alia explained to Ron and Hermione. "If I'm withdrawn, so is every other sorcerer over here. We will reestablish the animosity that existed between us before and let you handle Voldemort on your own."

"That's rather heartless on your part," Dumbledore said.

"I won't have a choice in the matter because I'll be placed in iso or killed the minute I get back."

"Killed?" Hermione, Ron, and Draco exclaimed in unison. Dumbledore appeared surprised as well, but didn't say anything.

"I'm a risk without my stabilizer, so it will be in everybody's best interest if the fifth black Territory is left to another to handle. Who knows, maybe they'll have me killed even if Harry does get good results."

"You told them you could handle yourself here just fine, Alia," Harry accused.

"They don't trust my independent judgment anymore. After all, I'm one of the most powerful sorcerer's in existence and I don't have my primary stabilizer."

"Why don't you just alter your connection to your backup?" Ron asked.

"Because I don't need my back-up yet. I haven't lost control once and Eb has been doing its job of protecting me."

"You shouldn't wait until you lose control to use your back-up, Alia. There are too many people here that could get hurt," Harry scolded. "Stop acting like a teenager, get over your pride, and admit that you're going to have to depend on someone else for a while." Alia looked at Harry silently for a minute before she sighed heavily.

"I just got told off by someone who is not only younger than me, but is supposed to take orders from me," she complained.

"The younger generation is a wonder that should be listened to," Dumbledore chided.

"Very funny. You guys sure know how to get me off track. I've never had this much trouble delivering an order."

"Maybe it's just you," Ron said. Alia stood from her seat and handed Harry a letter quickly.

"Be ready to leave once class lets out on Friday. I want to get this out of the way as soon as possible."

"Make sure you visit a Mediator while you're there. If your temper is anything to go by, I believe you need to be purified," Dumbledore called in a strangely firm voice.

"I don't need a wizard telling me what to do, Dumbledore." She left with that, leaving the four students staring after her.

"I don't think I've ever seen her on edge like this," Dumbledore mused. "I've known the Jeronas ever since before Alia was born and they are recognized for being in total control no matter what the situation is."

"What should we do, Headmaster?" Hermione asked.

"Harry unfortunately has to follow the orders of the Council, especially if they go as far as surpassing Pierce and Alia's authority to deliver the order. There's nothing we can do about the ways of sorcery. They are in another world compared to us wizards and there is nothing we can do to truly combine the worlds we exist in."

Harry looked at the Headmaster for a few more seconds before lowering his eyes. "If that's true, then why is Alia trying so hard to do just that?" Harry really didn't need to ask the question. He knew Alia and sorcerers enough by now to know that they were tired of how they lived and they wanted to change. They knew that the only way they could truly change their ways was through wizards. And according to Alia, Harry was their way to bring together the two worlds of magic.

* * *

The last week of classes before Christmas vacation passed in a blur for Harry and Draco. Alia had practically ignored them in that time period. On the first day of the vacation, with the school practically empty, Alia entered the Gryffindor common room, accompanied by McGonagall, where Draco and Harry waited for her. Hermione and Ron were already at the Burrow, having taken the train yesterday when Alia told them that they couldn't come under any circumstance. 

"Are you ready to go, Harry?" Alia asked.

"Yeah, _we_ are ready to go," Draco answered instead, greatly irked that Alia had completely ignored him.

"Don't get mouthy with me, Malfoy. I've got enough to deal with without any help from your wit and temper."

Draco was about to retort, but his cloak being thrown in his face by Harry cut him off. "Will you two just keep a handle on your tempers for one day? I'm really not in the mood to deal with your childish antics." That said, Harry stormed out of the room with a small bag holding the belongings he was taking along clutched in his hand.

"What's his problem?" Alia asked once she determined it was safe.

"He's been like that all week. I think it's his way of dealing with going to see the Council."

"What's so wrong with going to see the Council? I've served them since I was ten years old and look how well I'm doing."

Draco decided to keep the sarcastic comments that flew to his mind at the statement, instead opting for trying to describe Harry's current attitude. "On one hand, he doesn't want to have to serve the Council after some of the facts he's learned of sorcerers over the last few months." Alia laughed nervously, guessing at a few that probably bugged Harry the most and realizing she had been the one to tell him most of them. "On the other hand, he doesn't want the Council to cut contact with wizards just because they don't see anything special in him. It's a lot for him to deal with and so he's dealing with it in whatever way he can."

"In other words, it's safer to just not talk to him until we leave?"

"That works for you, but I'm the one who's connected to his brain."

"Just try to convince him that there's nothing to worry about. A meeting with the Prophets will only take a few minutes."

"What exactly will they be doing?" Draco asked as he grabbed his own bag and followed Alia out of the room. McGonagall was talking with Harry, who at least seemed to be pleasant with the Head of his House.

"The Territories of Prophets works in too weird of a way to even dream of describing, so I'm not going to even try."

"Have you ever tried to work like a Prophet?" McGonagall asked as Alia moved ahead to lead them to wherever they were going to. At the curious glance Alia replied with, the Professor elaborated. "I heard that black Territories can impersonate the other Territories and can adapt to any use of sorcery with enough practice."

Alia's eyes remained on McGonagall for a few more seconds before she shrugged and moved on ahead without a word.

"What's with her?" Harry asked shortly.

(I think McGonagall breached a touchy subject without meaning to,) Draco replied mentally. (This is just what I need: another hotheaded teen with a problem I don't know about.) After sending Harry a quick glare to make sure the sorcerer knew who he was talking about, he walked faster to rejoin Alia.

"Well, this is going to be an interesting trip," Harry muttered.

Alia stopped when they reached a clearing near the edge of the Dark Forest and not far away from Hagrid's hut. Harry made a mental reminder to visit Hagrid when he got back. He hadn't visited his friend in a few weeks now and he didn't want Hagrid to think he was ignoring him or something. But for now, there was a matter that he was more concerned with, like…

"How are we getting to America? We can't Apparate on school grounds," Harry pointed out.

"Sorcerers can't Apparate, Potter, I've told you that at least a hundred times now," Alia replied rather harshly.

"Well, at least twice," Draco corrected dully.

Alia sighed and tried to get a hold on her nerves so she could at least act decent to Harry and Draco. She really didn't do well when she was nervous. "Apparating would tear a sorcerer's Territory to shreds and the sorcerer would die. We have another form of transportation that's kind of like Apparating, but totally different."

"Wait, Draco and Professor McGonagall aren't sorcerers. How are they supposed to go?" Harry asked.

"Don't worry, I'm experienced enough to get us to the Council with all the pieces in the right places."

"Excuse me?" McGonagall asked, looking slightly pale. "Just what exactly are you going to be doing?"

"I'm going to lock onto a sort of beacon in the Council and alter my Territory to match the signal I receive. Then I'll merge the magic of the beacon and my Territory, which will bring us to the source of the beacon, transporting us. When I return my Territory to its normal state, we'll be there instead of here."

McGonagall looked dubious for a few seconds before speaking. "I think I'll pass, thank you. It's not that I don't trust your abilities Dark Adeptor, but I have a feeling it wouldn't work so well with me. I am merely a witch after all and this is for sorcerers."

"I'm just a wizard and you don't see me complaining," Draco pointed out, and then realized that it might have been the wrong thing to say. "No offense, Professor," he attempted to amend.

"You may be a wizard, but you are also a stabilizer. That alone protects you from the three Unforgivable Curses."

"But aren't you supposed to report to Dumbledore the results the Prophets give?" Alia asked.

"I'll just go to Hogsmeade and Apparate. I'll meet you in a few hours."

"Alright, we'll continue with the Prophets as planned and I'll just ell them to tell you whatever they tell us." The witch turned and walked back towards the castle and Alia turned to the other two teens next to her. "Well, I'd say it's about time you see the core of sorcery."

Alia closed her eyes and her Territory became visible around her, spreading slightly to surround Harry and Draco. Harry's Territory reached out slightly to join with its friend, but Harry pulled it back quickly.

"No Harry, don't restrain Sil. If you are controlling your Territories signal, I won't be able to fully alter my signal." Harry looked at Alia questioningly, but did what he was told and released his hold on his Territory. It moved away from him and folded itself to Alia's Territory, causing Harry's senses to become sharper than they normally were alone. He could feel absolutely everything around him. It was amazing, but at the same time, in a way that Harry couldn't describe, it hurt to know every detail of his surroundings. "This is everyday for me," Alia whispered.

Harry felt that Alia was reaching out to the other side of the world to find the beacon that would place them within the walls of the Sorcery Council. Harry tried to follow what exactly she was doing, but Alia was using different levels of her magic to do this and it was virtually impossible to concentrate on all of them at the same time when he wasn't used to doing it. As she searched, Harry also felt the very structure of the black Territory surrounding them alter in a way that was natural, but made the area of magic feel like something totally different from what it normally was.

A few seconds later, most of the activity coming from Alia's magic ceased and she opened her eyes. "I'm locked on to the beacon. Once I make the final adjustments on my Territory, we're gone," she explained. Just another minute…" she trailed off and Harry felt a wave of magic pass over him briefly and then he felt nothing at all. It was suddenly like he wasn't there at all. He looked next to him to Draco, who appeared to be getting steadily more nervous as Alia progressed into whatever she was doing.

Then, like it had never been different, everything that had been changed with Alia's Territory was normal again and she pulled it back around herself. Harry looked around them and took in the relatively small, enclosed room they were now in. Alia sighed lightly and looked to the door that was the only way out of the room. "Well, here we are," she mumbled. "Damn, this means I have to actually meet with the top guns. I really hate those guys."

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Because they are the ones trying to pull me out of my involvement with wizards."

"Why did I feel like I didn't exist for a second there?" Harry asked.

"Transmission, which is what it's called, makes it like you were at your destination to begin with. By matching my Territory to the magic of this room, I was able to make us exist here while we were still at Hogwarts. For a second there, we actually existed in two places at once."

"Why doesn't that make me feel any better about how I felt when we moved?"

"Because you're too stubborn to just let it go," Alia rebuked and walked to the door, opened it, and then turned back to the other two teens, waiting for them to follow.

"Well, this is going to be an interesting visit," Draco muttered before walking out the door past Alia. Harry followed the two out and remained silent as Alia led them through the halls of the unfamiliar building.

The Sorcery Council was very large. It wasn't as vast as Hogwarts, but it seemed to come close. Harry had given up keeping track of where they were after they turned down the twentieth corner and walked down another practically identical path as the last. Shortly after, Harry suspected that Alia was taking so many turns on purpose to confuse them. When he asked her if that was the case, she put on an innocent face and said she didn't know what gave him that idea, then gave herself away by saying, "You can't be of any use to an enemy if you don't even know the path you took. The Council has been on high alert ever since Rokay was attacked and I was ordered to make sure you didn't learn your way around this building."

"But the attack was months ago," Draco said. "You'd think you guys were mad paranoid or something."

"Sorcerers are still missing and we don't have a solid explanation for their disappearance. Until we know what's going on with Voldemort, we're always in danger."

"I'll say it again: you're mad paranoid."

"We've got good reason to be. I thought you would be able to figure that much out on your own."

"Li, is that you?" a voice caught Alia's attention and she turned toward the source. It was an elderly man, probably in his early fifties. He had dark brown eyes and gray hair that was combed back neatly from his slightly wrinkled face. He was wearing a white suit covered with a matching white cloak.

"Oh, hey Gramps," Alia replied with a smile.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you currently stationed at Hogwarts?"

"The Council called me back to get Harry here read by Prophets. It seems like they finally doubt that I have what it takes to live without my stabilizer."

"That isn't the case, is it?" he asked, Harry catching the concern in the man's voice and expression.

"Of course not. You should be able to just look at me and tell them I'm doing fine without Aidrian."

"Yes, I see that you are still stable, but I also know you well enough to not chalk that up to highly with your functioning capabilities. If anybody can fake stability, it's you."

"Don't tell them that or I'll never be let loose into the world again."

"Are you just going to ignore us for the rest of the visit, or what?" Harry interrupted, knowing that Alia probably would forget them if he let them go on for too much longer.

"Oh, sorry about that Harpo. This is my good friend Alexander Harris, one of the best Mediators in existence. He's been treating me ever since my Territory was activated. Xan-de-man, this is Harry Potter and his stabilizer Draco Malfoy." Alexander shook both their hands briefly in greeting, smiling gently, reminding Harry of Dumbledore too much.

"So, these are the two causing all the hustle and bustle for the higher ups. I thought the rumors the Boy Who Lived becoming a sorcerer were fake. Shows you how much I get out and about."

"There is no such thing as fake rumors within the Council. If something reaches the daily conversation of the Council, that means it's the focus of the higher up."

"So, what exactly does it imply when Alia says you're the best Mediator?" Harry asked. He knew that, basically, Mediators were the doctors of sorcery and it was generally a focus of a white Territory's power, but he didn't know much more than that. Alia hadn't really gone into any detail about the different powers of the Territories, her excuse being that it wasn't necessary information at the moment.

"Mediators flush out magic that doesn't belong in a sorcerer's body. Too much magic contamination, as we call it, messes with the control of a sorcerer over their Territory and they can be more easily influenced by evil. Normally, that would be a task for a stabilizer, but things happen and us Mediators are called in. Saying I'm the best just means I have the most skilled in the area."

"He's the one who flushes my system when I hit a Spike. With his abilities, I recovered from every run-in with a Sorcery Spike with nothing but a power boost. As long as Aidrian isn't around, he'll be making sure I stay in line so I don't have to alter my connection to my dad."

"Stubborn freak," the old man muttered.

"Crazy old coot," Alia retorted in kind.

"Now, now, children, this is no time to argue," Draco interjected before they could delve deeper into their insults. "We have an appointment with some Prophets to keep."

"I'll stop by once I'm done with the Prophets so you can treat me."

"Alright, but watch out for their tempers. They've become really upset from having to look for anything on the missing sorcerers and stabilizers."

Alia nodded and embraced the man briefly before walking away with Harry and Draco behind.

Between talking to Alexander and meeting with the Prophets, Alia had stopped by what she called the "Council's idea of a room, but a small step up from a jail cell to the rest of the world". After seeing it, Harry had to admit that she had a point. It was small, simple, and only held the necessities for a room. On the other hand, considering Harry's room at the Dursley's, this wasn't half bad. Draco didn't even set foot in it, complaining about the Council's treatment of its sorcerers.

While in the room, she had quickly changed into what was obviously considered formal dress. She dressed in a long-sleeved silk shirt, leather pants, boots that laced up to just below her knees, and a cloak. Everything she wore was black, to match her hair and Territory. The only thing that threw off the color pattern was her ice-blue eyes, which now gave her and inhuman feel when she locked eyes with you, especially since she wasn't exactly in a good mood: she was radiating discomfort and anger.

"What's got you so upset?" Harry asked as they finally began their way to the Prophets.

"I'm here for less than a day and they put me in formal dress. I don't get why they won't let me just walk around in civilian dreg. But no, all sorcerers are required to dress in cloths specifically designed for them to match their Territories and abilities. Too bad they couldn't design them for comfort. If I was stuck in these clothes in a fight, I wouldn't last five minutes. The cloak gets in my way. The pants restrict my agility. The boots are too high and cut off circulation when I kneel down…" Alia continued her complaints as she led the way through the halls. Harry stopped listening after the first two minutes of solid complaints, figuring that it wouldn't do any good to interrupt now that she had gotten into it.

(I hope she doesn't complain like this the whole time. I understand that she isn't exactly happy about being here, but it can't all be bad,) Draco said after a few more minutes. Draco hadn't talked to Harry aloud in almost two hours, and it had been even longer since he had spoken through their connection. Harry knew that was mostly his fault for being in such a sour mood lately, but it still felt weird for the two of them to actually be distant.

(I think this might be a few months of anger getting vented at once,) Harry replied.

(Well, I wish she would pay attention where she was going. We've circled this area four times now.) Harry smiled briefly before he moved closer to Draco and took his hand. Draco looked over to him, slightly shocked at the gesture, but didn't say anything, letting Harry take his time in whatever he was going to say.

(I'm sorry about how I've been acting lately. You don't deserve any of the treatment I've been giving you and I won't make excuses.)

(Well, it has been kind of weird to be given that much of a cold shoulder for a week. You've got to be the only person who could ignore me that well.)

(So, I'm forgiven?) Harry's voice was hopeful and slightly more upbeat than his previous words.

Draco pulled on the hand grasping his own, causing Harry to fall back into him. He placed his other hand on Harry's cheek and moved the shorter teen closer so he could brush his lips over Harry's. "Of course. You thought I would actually stay mad at you?"

"Well, it is you we're talking about. You're known for being unpredictable, no matter how well someone seems to know you." Draco smiled, realizing that Harry had a good point and kissed the sorcerer again, making this one a bit deeper.

When he pulled away, Harry leaned his head against Draco's shoulder and sighed contentedly. (I missed this.)

(Don't think you were the only one. Do you know how hard it is to find someone I can get away with cuddling up to?) Harry laughed at that.

"How did you guys get ahead of me?" Alia's voice broke the moment and the two looked at the sorceress and tried to restrain their laughter. Obviously Alia hadn't even noticed that they had stopped while in her preaching mode and had kept on going. She had also made another round on the path she seemed intent on not leaving.

"We decided that we have had enough of walking in circles. We haven't gotten any closer to where we're going in half an hour," Draco said, exaggerating slightly.

"Well, sorry if I'm cutting into your busy schedule," Alia replied harshly and then walked past them.

(I dare you to get her started again,) Harry said as they once again followed Alia, this time with their minds as closely connected as they could get.

(I prefer to get this over with sometime today, if you don't mind, and that won't happen as long as Alia is circling her problems, literally.)

* * *

i am so glad i finally finished with this chapter. its been a pain in the butt and hopefully the next one wont be so hard to get out. please tell me if it isn't all that good compared to others. it just feels drawn out to me. the points were Harry Sorcery name, meeting Maron and Mio, and exposing that a lot of sorcerers still dont trust wizards and are taking it out on Harry. as kind ofa spoiler, im introducing all of the black territories now for a reason. ill leave the reason up to you guys to ponder on your own. 

**Review Replies:**

**Morena Evansong:** hey there. i loved your review. when i read the first part of it, i just couldnt stop laughing because i knew that it was pretty much true. ive been reading over the last few chapters and they all have their little (or personality consuming if they're Pierce) quirks that make them complete nuts. it is so tempting to write a side story concentrating on them. i just might once i get done with this. (darn, i can already hear my muses discussing a story)  
im glad you still love the story, and you are actually one of my fave reviewers. you give me so many ideas with your reviews, even if you dont mean to. keep it up. and about the slytherins, Harry will get to know them, but he probably wont be going down to the dungeons very often. there are still those who hate him.  
hope you enjoyed and talk to you next chapter.

**guani: **thanks for reviewing. the timeline is a good idea, and i'll keep that in mind. i try to establish how much time is passing, buti know it can get confusing. im glad you liked the alchemy inclusion (ive been watchingALOT of FullMetal Alchemist and i couldn't resist. i love that show...)  
BTW i have many muses. pick one and i'll send him or her over to you. thats one less one to argue with when im writing.  
hope you enjoyed this chapter too.

**simplicity.exe:** thanks and enjoy

**Windy River: **glad you like it, and here's your update

**silverbluenchantress:** as you wish, here's your update. enjoy and thanks for the review.

**USA-Jeanette:** thank you so much for the compliment. i always try to tell an author why i like the story so much and what their strengths of writing is, and now i know how good it feels to recieve a review like that. thank you so much and i hope i hold that up for the rest of the story. enjoy.

**Princess Hikari of Chrono:** thanks for the review Hi-chan and Yami! i'm getting my own ideas from just the title Void...(insert evil laughter here) hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

well, thats it for reviews. make sure you give kudos to my beta Majestrix. YOU'RE THE BEST and hope your doing okay.

oh, and i do send out an email to those who review when i update and the link to it. if you want to be included in the list of who i send the email to, give me your email in your review, or send me an email at if you don't want to be sent an email, just let me know and i'll remove you from the list.

well, see you next chapter, and please review.  
Kimra Dattei


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